Very interesting! I just noticed that the smaller the butterfly, the more difficult it is to spread without breaking it. Bigger butterflies are definitely easier than the really small ones. Usually just touching the small ones with forceps will cause fragments to come off. How would you recommend spreading tiny ones (less than 2cm wingspan) without breaking the wings?
Great series! Very professional and clear instructions. I found a butterfly on the side of the road, and randomly decided to pin in. Thanks to your videos, I have a very unprofessionally pinned bug! I'm sure I would have made skilled craftsmen cry if they had watched me pin it :P. I used wax paper, which I know you warned against. Seriously, don't use wax paper!! You *will* damage your butterfly!! My pinning board was cardboard and styrofoam; I used my bare fingers to arrange the wings; pierced the bug body with a tatting needle; etc. My bug is a far cry from your skilled works. I think it's an American Painted Lady butterfly. THANKS AGAIN!!
Thanks for sharing your skills and experience in this sometimes mystifying art! Craftspeople like you who are willing to pass on their knowledge are invaluable to the continuation of these obscure skills for future generations.
+Daniel McTurk You are most welcome. And indeed that was exactly my intent. I think that it would be a waste of nearly 4 decades worth of experience and training in this area for it to be lost and not passed on. I shall be making many videos sharing my knowledge on various aspects of this art form. I think that sharing some of the more obscure facts about interesting species I have in my collection would be a good place to start. But I will first be making a video on how to make one of the more expensive art pieces that I do as promised.
Great video! Thanks for the tricks Anshul. Can you give some tips on the storage of insect specimens, such as preventing mold, booklice, preserving colours etc? Thanks a lot!!
Thank you for this video! Very helpful! Could you tell me what forceps you use? They look different than the forceps I commonly see sold for butterfly pinning.
Something I have really been struggling with is twisted heads. Is there a reliable method of reorienting the head of a specimen so the antennae are easier to position correctly. Have been having to do a lot of repair work which is good practice but something I would like to avoid with more expensive and rare specimens. Thanks again for all your help and encouragement.
I love to watch your videos again and again. i often struggle with twisted heads, even with forcing them to be straight they don't stay and get twisted again. PD: could you make a video of how to degrease abdomens and stains? and a video of how to frame would be just amazing!!!! keep it up Anshul!!!
Hi. What I do with twisted heads is to just cut off the head, keeping it in the rehydration box and reataching it with glue when the specimen is dried.
+Peik Wieland I buy tracing paper sheets and I have them cut to the dimensions that I desire. 2 inches for large butterflies, 1 inch for small and medium butterflies. You can buy tracing paper from any place where regular paper is sold.
im currently just placing the specimem high on the pin and when its stuck into the groove ill gently press it down till its flush with the board ( till the wings contact the board) will this work? oh yes i also cant seem to find the video that u talked about on removing oil stains after pinning. once again thanks again greatly appreciate ur replies
hi Anshul thanks for the very informative videos... could i ask a question? after piercing the thorax with a pin how high or low do u position the specimen on the pin? also do u have a method to estimate or ascertain how high the specimen should be placed on the spreading board when u pin it into the foam before u even start the spreading process? thanks in advance
Yes, great question! I place the specimen typically 2/3 the way up the pin. Another gauge I use to ensure that the specimen is at the right height is to make sure that the beginning of the costal margin is always above the groove's edge of the board to ensure that the wings don't buckle over. Hope this helps.
Wonderful video! I wish I would have looked for this when I found the Monarch I am trying to mount. It looked like it had been caught on a car, but it wasn't damaged. My question is what is the gun you used to attach the head in the pinning video? Is it something you make? Thank you!
All I use is insect repair adhesive, forceps and insect pins to adhere any disjointed appendages. I was not able to see what gun you are referring to. If I have not answered your query, please expand as I am not sure what you are referring to. Thanks.
You are most welcome. The secret to my success with handling these fragile specimens is that I am completely at ease. There is no fear or anxiety. I use this process as a form of catharsis and stress release. Plus I have put in more than 10,000 hours doing this over my life. Perhaps this is why it appears to be easy. I call it the effortless effort. Best wishes.
how do you rendele teinopalpus wings so soft, I once tried to moisturize enough, but five days and the wings were still tough and I had to throw it away, because it made mold.
Very interesting! I just noticed that the smaller the butterfly, the more difficult it is to spread without breaking it. Bigger butterflies are definitely easier than the really small ones. Usually just touching the small ones with forceps will cause fragments to come off. How would you recommend spreading tiny ones (less than 2cm wingspan) without breaking the wings?
Great series! Very professional and clear instructions. I found a butterfly on the side of the road, and randomly decided to pin in. Thanks to your videos, I have a very unprofessionally pinned bug! I'm sure I would have made skilled craftsmen cry if they had watched me pin it :P. I used wax paper, which I know you warned against. Seriously, don't use wax paper!! You *will* damage your butterfly!! My pinning board was cardboard and styrofoam; I used my bare fingers to arrange the wings; pierced the bug body with a tatting needle; etc. My bug is a far cry from your skilled works. I think it's an American Painted Lady butterfly. THANKS AGAIN!!
Thanks for sharing your skills and experience in this sometimes mystifying art! Craftspeople like you who are willing to pass on their knowledge are invaluable to the continuation of these obscure skills for future generations.
+Daniel McTurk You are most welcome. And indeed that was exactly my intent. I think that it would be a waste of nearly 4 decades worth of experience and training in this area for it to be lost and not passed on. I shall be making many videos sharing my knowledge on various aspects of this art form. I think that sharing some of the more obscure facts about interesting species I have in my collection would be a good place to start. But I will first be making a video on how to make one of the more expensive art pieces that I do as promised.
Great video! Any chance you can zoom in on how you got the hind wing back underneath the forewing? It’s a problem I struggle with occasionally still.
Great video! Thanks for the tricks Anshul. Can you give some tips on the storage of insect specimens, such as preventing mold, booklice, preserving colours etc? Thanks a lot!!
Thank you for this video! Very helpful! Could you tell me what forceps you use? They look different than the forceps I commonly see sold for butterfly pinning.
Can you tell me ..which size of pin should we use for pinning butterfly?
Something I have really been struggling with is twisted heads. Is there a reliable method of reorienting the head of a specimen so the antennae are easier to position correctly. Have been having to do a lot of repair work which is good practice but something I would like to avoid with more expensive and rare specimens. Thanks again for all your help and encouragement.
+Daniel McTurk Must have the specimen fully hydrated with full range of motion so that there is movement in the head as well.
I love to watch your videos again and again. i often struggle with twisted heads, even with forcing them to be straight they don't stay and get twisted again. PD: could you make a video of how to degrease abdomens and stains? and a video of how to frame would be just amazing!!!! keep it up Anshul!!!
Ok yes. I can do this. Perhaps in the new year i will do this. 🙏👍
Hi. What I do with twisted heads is to just cut off the head, keeping it in the rehydration box and reataching it with glue when the specimen is dried.
Excellent video and I am happy to follow you, my question is: Does room temperature impact on the Pin time?also wet or dry?
Where do you get the Teinopalpus?
Tienopalpus comes from India, Nepal, Burma, Bhutan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, China and Cambodia. This specimen came from Vietnam.
Hey Anshul :) love your videos. where do you get the paper that you place on top fo the butterfly wing? the ones i have are not that wide...
+Peik Wieland I buy tracing paper sheets and I have them cut to the dimensions that I desire. 2 inches for large butterflies, 1 inch for small and medium butterflies. You can buy tracing paper from any place where regular paper is sold.
im currently just placing the specimem high on the pin and when its stuck into the groove ill gently press it down till its flush with the board ( till the wings contact the board) will this work? oh yes i also cant seem to find the video that u talked about on removing oil stains after pinning.
once again thanks again greatly appreciate ur replies
Yes, this will work. I can't remember which video it was on about the acetone to remove the stains.
hi Anshul thanks for the very informative videos... could i ask a question? after piercing the thorax with a pin how high or low do u position the specimen on the pin? also do u have a method to estimate or ascertain how high the specimen should be placed on the spreading board when u pin it into the foam before u even start the spreading process? thanks in advance
Yes, great question! I place the specimen typically 2/3 the way up the pin. Another gauge I use to ensure that the specimen is at the right height is to make sure that the beginning of the costal margin is always above the groove's edge of the board to ensure that the wings don't buckle over. Hope this helps.
Wonderful video! I wish I would have looked for this when I found the Monarch I am trying to mount. It looked like it had been caught on a car, but it wasn't damaged.
My question is what is the gun you used to attach the head in the pinning video? Is it something you make?
Thank you!
All I use is insect repair adhesive, forceps and insect pins to adhere any disjointed appendages. I was not able to see what gun you are referring to. If I have not answered your query, please expand as I am not sure what you are referring to. Thanks.
gun was supposed to be glue, the insect repair adhesive.
You make this look very easy.
Thank you for the reply!
You are most welcome. The secret to my success with handling these fragile specimens is that I am completely at ease. There is no fear or anxiety. I use this process as a form of catharsis and stress release. Plus I have put in more than 10,000 hours doing this over my life. Perhaps this is why it appears to be easy. I call it the effortless effort. Best wishes.
how do you rendele teinopalpus wings so soft, I once tried to moisturize enough, but five days and the wings were still tough and I had to throw it away, because it made mold.
Thanks for the question. I would refer you to watch the video I madden how to make a hydration box. All is explained in that video to your question.
I mean like how do you import them, since they are CITES
With CITES permits.