STEP 01 - Rehydration
The Relaxing Chamber
YOU WILL NEED:
- Tupperware container with lid
- Paper towel
- 2 small lids or sauce containers
- 70% or + isopropyl alcohol
- Water (spray bottle or tap)
MAKING A DRY CREATURE FLEXIBLE
Start with a Tupperware-style container with a lid. It should be capable of sealing airtight, but for this process, don't seal it completely. We want the relaxing chamber to breathe.
Line the bottom with a couple of layers of paper towel and spray them with water until they're thoroughly moist, but not soaking wet. You want humidity, but not a swimming pool. There shouldn't be water sloshing around the bottom of the container.
ADD YOUR SPECIMENS
Carefully remove your dried specimens from their packaging and lay them directly on top of the damp paper towel.
Take your time here.
Most insects have tiny claws at the ends of their legs that love to catch on plastic, cotton and packaging. Don't pull if something feels stuck - you can easily leave a leg or antenna behind.
ADD WATER + ALCOHOL
Next, find two tiny containers. Bottle caps, small sauce-container lids or something similar work perfectly.
FILL:
- One with water
- One with at least 70% isopropyl alcohol
Place both inside the relaxing chamber.
The alcohol helps discourage mold while your specimens are sitting in the warm, humid environment.
If you have isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle, I also like to give the specimens a light mist before closing the container.
CLOSE IT - BUT DON'T SEAL IT
Place the lid on the container, but don't snap it completely airtight. Leave one end un-snapped, but still closed
A little airflow is important. If everything is completely sealed up for several days, you can end up with mold, and a smell that announces something dead is inside my house.
HOW LONG?
As a general starting point:
Small insects: about 2 days
Larger insects: about 2–3 days
Large spiders, scorpions and other substantial specimens: up to 4 days
The exact time will vary depending on the size and type of creature.
When it's ready, the legs and joints should move fairly free without feeling like they will break off.
If the creature still feels stiff, give it more time in the relaxing chamber. An extra day is considerably easier to deal with than an extra leg.
IN A PINCH
Need it ready faster? Place your specimen in 100C (ish) hot water for 10 - 20 minutes, depending on its size. This will soften the joints enough for pinning, but they tend to remain more brittle and aren't as deeply rehydrated.
It works - but a proper relaxing chamber gives you a much more flexible and cooperative creature.
STEP 02 - Pinning & Positioning
YOU WILL NEED:
- A piece of Styrofoam
- A bunch of 2-inch sewing pins with ball heads
- A small piece of wax paper
- Extra Styrofoam or cardboard if you're spreading wings
Once your specimen is fully rehydrated and the joints move freely, remove it from the relaxing chamber. Now comes the fun part—making it look good.
SET UP YOUR WORKSPACE
You don't need ultra-thin entomology specific pins for this method. We're using the pins to hold the creature in position, not sticking them through it.
I like to secure my Styrofoam to the work surface with a sticky mat or double-sided tape. You don't want the whole thing skating across the desk on you.
ANCHOR THE BODY
Place your specimen on the Styrofoam.
Before pinning the legs, use a few pins around the body to stop the specimen from moving.
Two pins placed on either side of the head and angled slightly outward can create a gentle pinching effect that holds it in place. Do the same near the base of the body.
The goal is to hold the body still without putting a pin through it.
ROUGH IN THE POSE
Start positioning the legs where you want them.
Use pairs of pins crossed into an X over the legs to create little pinch points that hold everything in place.
Don't worry about perfection yet.
I like to roughly position all of the legs first until the overall pose looks right. Once everything is where I generally want it, I go back and fine-tune each leg, foot and antenna - removing and repositioning pins as necessary.
SPREADING BEETLE WINGS
Spreading beetle wings is tricky and takes some practice. There is no specific technique for this, you will figure out what works for you.
The hard outer wing covers (the elytra) need to be cracked opened. They can be quite stiff and difficult to hold onto. You will feel and hear a small snap as one side separates from the other.
The delicate flight wings underneath naturally want to fold themselves back up.
Gently unfold one wing first and hold it in position with your fingers.
Once the wing looks right, lay a small piece of wax paper over it and place pins through the wax paper around the perimeter of the wing.
DO NOT PUT PINS THROUGH THE WING ITSELF.
The wax paper and surrounding pins do the holding.
If you'd like the wings to sit higher instead of lying completely flat, place another thin piece of Styrofoam or cardboard underneath the wing to create some elevation before securing it.
Then repeat on the other side.
LET IT DRY
Once you're happy with the pose, leave the specimen pinned for approximately two weeks.
Leaving it longer won't hurt.
What's important is that the creature is completely dry before it goes into a sealed frame.
If moisture is still trapped inside, you're creating a little enclosed habitat for mold and unwanted tiny-er bugs.
STEP 03 - Framing & Mounting
SUPPLIES YOU MAY NEED
Depending on how you plan to display your creature
- Hot glue gun
- 1/8" metal rod
- Glass dome or cloche
- Shadow box or deep frame
- UV-activated glue & UV light
GIVE YOUR CREATURE A HOME
How you display your creature is entirely up to you. Maybe it's a modern shadow box, an old vintage frame, or perhaps no frame at all, a glass dome or cloche can make a beautiful little home (or graveyard, if you prefer).
Whatever you choose, make sure your creature is completely dry before mounting it, and keep it enclosed and protected.
KEEP IT SEALED
Don't leave your specimen exposed or in an open frame without glass.
Tiny insect pests can find their way to dried specimens and literally eat them from the inside out. You may never even notice they're there until one day your beautiful creature disintegrates.
Not quite the circle of life we're going for.
KEEP IT OUT OF THE SUN
Once your creature is safely mounted, find it a good spot on a wall or shelf—but keep it out of direct sunlight.
UV light gradually breaks down just about everything, and dried insects are particularly delicate. Prolonged sunlight can fade their colours and accelerate deterioration.
Dry. Enclosed. Out of direct sunlight.
Follow those three rules and your very still creature should remain very still—and beautiful—for a long time.
A NOTE ABOUT GLUE
I've found that hot glue works best for mounting the creature itself, whether you're attaching it to the backboard of a frame or mounting it inside a glass dome.
And accidents happen. If you break off a leg, antenna or another delicate piece, don't panic.
For repairs, I've had the best luck with UV-activated glue. You can find it at hobby shops or online, and it usually comes with a small UV light used to cure the glue. It hardens in seconds.
It lets you carefully position the broken piece first and then cure the glue once everything is exactly where you want it.
Remember: Hot glue for mounting. UV glue for tiny repairs.
