Collecting and Preserving Insects, Bugs etc

[Red Dirt Girl]

God how I wish I go into a relaxation chamber.

(and then get mounted )

Originally Posted by Venus007

Ooooh! Doll, that sounds fantastic! I would love to go to a bug zoo!

I really love those beautiful beetles that look like gems.

On a further note: I have a cricket, a locust and a cicada all ready to mount when my spreader board gets here.

What you have to do is put the dried bug in a "relaxing chamber" which is a large jar with cotton on the bottom wet with water and an antifungal like phenol. The bug is placed on a tray or, in my case, in a ramekan and that tray is placed on top of the wet cotton. The lid is sealed and in several hours for a small insect or a day for a large insect it becomes moist enough to manipulate without breaking. Then one poses the bug and sets the pins so it retains the pose and waits for it to dry.

I am waiting for my spreader bar (no, not that kind you delightful perverts). A spreader bar is used to spread insect wings and put them in place so when they dry you can display them in all their winged beauty.

By the way it is better to mount them when they are fresh but since all my bugs are harvested once they are dead (I don't like the idea of wantonly killing a bug for a display) I always have to use the relaxation chamber.