I moved the bug from the pinning block to the styrofoam. He's flexible, and long, his exoskeleton hasn't hardens yet, so his hind was limp on the pin.
6. Staging
You'll notice 5 pins here. The second one from the top is the main pin. The first pin for staging was the very bottom one for the hind leg. However when I grabbed another leg his body kept wiggling, so I used my criss-Cross pin method to secure his body as stop his moving (he's dead, the body is just long and very pliable).
Tip: Criss-Cross Pin Method
I use this method for Long bodied bugs that tend to move when I'm attempting to pin their legs, to position their heads, hold up the tail on wasps so they stay level, and when legs slide down the pins to keep them positioned. Here, simply insert the pin on a 45 degree angle under the bug (not in the exoskeleton) and follow the same procedure on the other side. This helps limit movement.
Then I staged the antennae to keep them from curling and out of the way.
As you can see I used about 30 pins to stage this centipede. And I repositioned his antennae at the very end.
Damage or Broken Parts
I also lost one leg while pinning. Clear nail polish can be used to reattach the leg. Hold the leg with the tweezers, and position the leg on the tweezers how it will look when you reattach it. You don't want to be moving the parts your reattaching and fiddling with them once the glue or polish is on for attaching. Using the nail polish brush, brush of the liquid from the on the nail bottle (again you'll perfect how much to use over time). Brush onto the part (not the body or you'll get too much polish on the segment) and attached to the body. HOLD the part in place several seconds and gently blow on it to speed up drying process. I have also used pins in the cross-cross method to help keep the leg in place while drying.
Tips for staging bugs:
- keep in mind, especially if your not using a pinning block, that the legs and antennae shouldn't touch the styrofoam when staging the bug. Later when moving your bug to its final collection box, legs can break when the pinned bug gets moved and reinserted into the final styrofoam, and as when my older son took his box to second grade, the kids shook the box, and bugs "touching" the surface lost limbs. You don't Ben want the legs touching the label. Again there's a chance of breakage.
- use the "criss-cross pin method" to help level and secure your bug in place while pinning. Otherwise movement tends to lead to frustration. I'm not n a lab dealing with extraordinary volumes of insects, so I can be particular.
- look at insects pinned at your local museum or online, even collections on Pinterest. We have 4 bug boxes, so just to keep things interesting I'm going to start different staging. Especially with cicadas. Some pinned upside down, sideways, cicadas trapped while molting their nymph skin, nymph skins, wings pinned out, just the left wing and just the right wing. This allows you I observe your own collection in a new way.
- when using tweezers be gentle. I use them or a pin to pull a leg an check for how pliable it is. Sometimes I use tweezers as a stabilizer on the left an right side so they move less when pinning.
- I've read that if your collection gets infested, you can put the bug I the freezer to kill the eggs / larvae. Also preventative measures are key: use air tight containers at all phases of your process (collecting, kill jars, staging, and final storage). Also using shreds of moth balls in the case help prevent infestations. However read all cautions, breathing in moth balls cause neurological disorders, be cautious when using these chemicals. If you can smell moth balls in your collection, be cautious on not storing it, say, in your kids room.
- Clear nail polish can be used to reattach the leg. Determine where you'll attach the part. Hold the leg with the tweezers, and position the leg on the tweezers how it will look when you reattach it. You don't want to be moving the parts your reattaching and fiddling with them once the glue or polish is on for attaching. Using the nail polish brush, brush of the liquid from the on the nail bottle (again you'll perfect how much to use over time). Brush onto the part (not the body or you'll get too much polish on the segment) and attached to the body. HOLD the part in place several seconds and gently blow on it to speed up drying process. I have also used pins in the cross-cross method to help keep the leg in place while drying.
- if your pinning with kids cicadas are a great start. Collect several cicadas, so when you pin them, kids can crush or ruin one and quickly leave about being delicate with their specimens. Because no amount if parents explains is the same as experiencing pining for yourself! Then after they quickly learn the lesson of pinning slowly, and gently, you'll have another cicada specimen (or 3, 4, or 10) for them to keep working on. Let them do everything OPPOSITE of what I've noted. Pushing pins in too far, to short, don't stage them, stage only some, letting legs touch the styrofoam, and making lots of "mistakes." I Can. Not. Wait. To do a cicada bug box with my kids this summer!!!
Above our long legged friend is a wasp we uncovered early in spring, he wasn't ready to come out of hibernation, and were in the 30's and 40 degree temperatures in MARCH, note* were in a 6 month long winter!!! He wouldn't have survived and we brought him in for our collection. Younger son also found an ant.
7. Curing & Temporary Storage
My staged bugs go into a Tupperware container for curing. Tupperware is great because it's an airtight container, no other live insect can get in and lay their eggs (in the guts and exoskeletons of my collection as they disintegrate), thereby ruining my collection and the time I've invested.
I cure the bugs for 2 weeks or so. In the summer we are constantly adding to the box, so I'm frequently checking for readiness (see tip above). Bugs are ready and cured when you remove a pin and the legs, head, antennae will STAY in position.
8. Labeling
We haven't labeled yet but I'll add it when we do. Once cured we will as the label to the pin and move the bug to it's permanent home.
Other finds:
As I was photographing our bug, I noticed this dried exoskeletons of another house centipede stuck on a bag. This bag came from my moms house, which she brought over with Easter goodies. I don't know when he was attached, but he's in our collection using the card tip pin method. A pleaser surprise.
Our Insect Collection is such a fun hobby. I hope these tips and photo guide helps you in the armature process as we.