drying specimens in humid conditions

[Who? Me?]

On 20 Jul 2001 22:33:43 -0700, beebuzz at kiva.net (Liz Day) wrote:

>Thank you Chris.   Several people have mentioned doing this, only with 
>different chemicals - acetone, naptha (a solvent like paint thinner).   The 
>only part I'm unclear on is whether to remove and soak the abdomen before 
>the specimen dries, or afterwards.   Some say if you do it before, it won't 
>fit back on after the two parts dry separately.   Others apparently have no 
>problem.   I guess I can try them both.......
>
>Liz

Using Acetone (nail polish remover) works fine. Depending on species,
there MAY be some shrinkage, but I have never found it a real problem.

While the abdomen is removed is a good time to relax & set the
specimen. When setting, insert a pin horizontally into the thorax from
the rear and use it to align the specimen in the setting board
channel. When set & dried, just glue the dried abdomen back in place &
it's done. Try it on a couple of different species to see what
happens. There are lots of things to learn by experimenting this way.

If any of the specimens have fern-like antennae,be sure to use a fine,
dry paint brush to separate each strand so they look nice & neat.
Nothing worse than knotted antennae.

Cheers,
Chris 

 
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