Drooping wings after spreading

[Richard Worth]

Hi Bruce,
I concur with Mike having experienced similar things.  You really  
don't need more than hot day, i.e. 95 deg F.  Also do you have boards  
that angle up slightly or that are flat?  Angled boards counter that  
effect slightly but not always.  And as you mention, I have found it  
can be less effective on some small stuff, esp. some pyralids.  Not  
sure why there, unless it just has to do with the nature of  
musculature of some groups.  My micro boards are flat and this is more  
of a problem with some moths there too.  If the goal is to get them  
off the boards sooner so you can pin more, then buy more boards and be  
more patient! ;-)

of course if you then need more room for more boards you can always  
add on to your house...
Cheers,  Rich

Richard Worth
Entomologist / Lepidopterist
Plant Division
Oregon Dept. of Agriculture
635 Capitol St. NE
Salem, OR  97301
503-986-6461
503-871-7108: cell
rworth at oda.state.or.us
http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/index.shtml

So many moths, so little time...

> I may be off here Bruce, but I have found that drying in the oven is  
> not the best.  From my experience, it tends to "super-dry" them  
> immediately - in fact TOO dry, but, like any pendulum swung too far  
> in one direction, they tend to absorb "extra moisture" when taken  
> out (then droop).  I stopped using the oven and just allow them to  
> dry more naturally over the course of a week or so (for fresh  
> specimens)(although I do put them near vents and warm, slightly  
> breezy areas).  I have had MUCH better results this way....and I  
> DEFINITELY have more humidity than you have ever seen down there.,
> -- 

On Nov 4, 2010, at 6:56 PM, Bruce Walsh wrote:

> Fellow Lepsters:
>
> I'm having a recurring problem that I welcome input on.  After I  
> remove spread
> material from their blocks, the wings are nice and level, but within  
> a few days
> they often droop download.  This is esp. problematic for small  
> material.
> Two potential culprits can likely be removed:  One, I dry material  
> in an oven at
> 150 degrees, typically (for small things) for around 3-4 hours.   
> However, when I
> up this to 24 hours the problem still persists!
>
> Second, I live in Tucson, and so excessive humidity is not a problem  
> (esp. in my
> dry bug room)
>
> Any hints?
>
> cheers
>
> bruce
>

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