Mounting and Preserving Insects

What do I do after I catch it?

After catching an insect, place it in an envelope or vial, be sure to not the location, date, and any other data on the container.

Some insects can be killed immediately in the killing jar then placed in the envelope for later processing. Different insects have varying levels of resistance to the chemical used in the killing jar. Some will be killed quickly and others may live for hours before dying.

If possible place hard-bodied insects including moths, butterflies, flies, and bees in an envelope or jar and freeze them in the freezer over night.

Soft bodied insects and larvae of many species can be placed directly in a vial filled with Isopropyl Alcohol.

If an insect becomes brittle it may be necessary to place them in a relaxing chamber made of a jar and moistened paper towel or cotton balls for several hours before pinning them.

How do I pin an insect?

Insects are usually pinned vertically through the body.

Bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, and moths are pinned through the thorax between the bases of the front wings.

With flies and wasps the pin should be placed just to the right of the midline.

True bugs are pinned through the scutellum a little to the right of the midline if the scutellum is large.

Grasshoppers are usually pinned through the posterior part of the pronotum, just to the right of the midline.

Bettles, earwigs, and large hoppers should be pinned through the right forewing, about halfway between the two ends of the body, the pin should go through the metathorax.

Dragonflies and damselflies are best pinned horizontally through the thorax, with the left side uppermost with the wings together above its back.

What about little insects?

Small hard-bodied insects may need to be mounted on a card point "flag" or on a "minuten" pin. Flags are elongated triangular pieces cut out of thick card stock paper and should be 1/2 inch in length and 1/4 inch at the base. The flag is pinned at the base and glue is placed on the point and the insect glued to the point.

How do I label them?

There are two types of labels, collector labels and identification labels.

Collector labels should contain the following information and should be no larger than 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch in size: First initial and last name of collector, date, and location of collection.

Identification labels should be of the same size and contain the following: Common name and Order. All labels should be arranged to read from left to right and all should be placed at the same height on the pin. If two labels are used, collector and identification, enough space should be left between labels so the lower label can be read clearly.

How do I preserve my insects?

Pinned collections stored in boxes can be protected from dermestid beetles by placing a mothball on the heated end of a standard pin. This "pinned" mothball can then be placed in the collection with the pinned insects.

Cedar boxes are also helpful for the preservation of pinned insects.