Smallish specimen pinning/spreading question

[Kenelm Philip]

	You don't have to spread the wings apart to pin the specimen through
the thorax. Hold the butterfly between thumb & forefinger of your left
hand, slip the pin (in your right hand) between the wings while looking
at the front of the specimen, and you should be able to place the pin
properly without having to see the top of the thorax from above. You can
really do it almost by feel.

	On the other hand, if the specimen is fully relaxed, you should be
able to open the wings and force them down far enough that they don't
totally close when you release them.

	With a properly-designed relaxer, 24 hours is more than enough for
_Callophrys_. But people who use jars, and layer specimens in the jar, may
need much more time. My relaxer has over 200 square inches of water surface,
and the specimens are never layered--and butterflies up to the size of
_Colias_ and such relax fully in 24 hours.

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu




 
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