jessica tanner I'm feeling the same! I say if you are interested in a subject, why not study it? And spending money on any education is money well spent 💕
Please dont give me the looks, but.. I find all your mounting vídeos so relaxing and fully interesting at the same time! I've loved insects since, like, ever. Keep it up, man. 🐜🐛🐝
My granddaughter's pet centipede Piper died and she was upset about it, I think Piper was one of her favourite pets because the two of them were bonding easily
insectsafari They are illegal to import from Peru, and also illegal to own or sell in the States, so it's no wonder you have never seen any for sale. You can by them in Europe tho. I live in the States where they are illegal, and dam near impossible to aquire, but I have been in the tarantula and insect hobby for 20 years, and have gotten to know slot of people and breeders, and got lucky enough to get to know a guy here in the States who breeds Scolopendra gigantea. It's thru him that I bought 5 of them 9 years ago, and that's how I have them. They are the biggest ped in the world, and I currently have a male that is 12.5 inches. Super aggressive, and super fast...but I love them.
The only specimen I've seen was at the Smithsonian. Very impressive! I make my living teaching in schools with a large collection of arthropods and I'm always looking for sources of unusual species. If you ever have dead specimens that may be discarded I would be interested in using them as study specimens. I've been trying to increase my tarantula collection with some of the more colorful species but they are difficult to get freshly deceased.
insectsafari I end up with a good supply of preserved colorful tarantulas, mostly Gooty Sapphires and Avics, I will sub and let you know when I have any for you...and maybe a Scolopendra gigantea in a few months, as one of mine has reached its end very soon.
This creature... by any essence, it's just a copy of itself with multiple times, some sort of energy saving that Nature do. Copy of the copy of the copy of the copy - easy way to survive, some sort of simplification... Excellent way to construct things... and buildings ! That's what we do too - our architecture, for example !
You are correct that the segmented body plan is a successful strategy. Arthropods and their Annelid ancestors have distinct evolutionary advantages. Various useful appendages in Arthropods allow for diverse adaptation. A segment can produce an antenna, mandible, leg, gill, cerci or wing. Segments can be added or subtracted as needed, This has allowed them to become the dominant taxonomic group that they are today
Thanks for your interesting video! So in order to avoid the massive rotting/smell of directly drying and then mounting a freshly dead giant centipede, it would be probably best to first put it into ethanol (70%) and then after some time take it out, and needle it for drying, right?
Yes. Without a solvent bath it will likely be a shriveled, stinking mess. I would let it soak for at least a week and then drain and use fresh alcohol for another week. If that liquid is strongly discolored, replace the liquid again. There will be some shrinking as it dries so use plenty of bracing pins to hold everything in place. Let me know how it comes out!
@@insectsafari Thanks for the information! I am currently trying to obtain some ethanol (I guess, 70% will be sufficient), and will let you know about the result.
I'm certain that Arthropods will continue to have a segmented body. They have been thus for hundreds of millions of years. I'm glad that you enjoyed the video.
I wonder how the modified legs evolved. For things like camouflage and a manner of living, it's easy to understand. Gradually more and more of the "mutation" survives and eventually every specimen of a species has the "mutation". For the "jaws"... since they're modified legs... how? First just "sharp" legs and later venom?
I've never seen one, but they look like other locally common Cerambycid beetles so I suspect they would dry out the same without any special treatment. Do you have a specimen?
Spiders are a bit of a challenge. They have thin exoskeletons so they tend to shrivel up when they dry. I have had some success soaking them in acetone for weeks to keep them relatively intact. I pin them to a sheet of cork so the legs are in the proper position then I float it upside down in a jar of acetone. I have heard of using the same technique with ether but ether is a controlled substance that requires a permit to buy. I recently discovered that automobile starter fluid contains ether so I'm going to experiment with that at some point.
Very informative video 👏👏. So basically you immersed the insect in alcohol(for how many days? ) , then taken out, stretched the parts and fixed on thermocol to dry it out for few weeks (How many weeks exactly?) And finally some post processing. Please comment on above questions...
As I mentioned in the video, this specimen was in alcohol for a couple of months which is longer than it needed to be for preparation but kept the specimen ready for when I got around to it. I would keep a fresh specimen like this soaking for at least two weeks, but it might take less time to be ready. I just don't have enough experience to say for certain. The amount of time it takes for a specimen to dry depends on relative temperatures and humidity and the particular condition of the individual. When I am waiting for a specimen to dry I will check it every few days by gently probing it to see if it has become rigid.
I have a dried centipede and would like to rehydrate it and pin it in an S - shape. Should I soak it in alcohol for a while to allow me to manipulate it? If so, how long should I soak it for?
I would use isopropyl instead of denatured alcohol because it has some water in it. This will help to relax the specimen but prevent decay. It's also a good opportunity to dissolve out some of the lipids that may be remaining in the specimen. I don't know exactly how long to soak it. I'd just check on it every day or so to see how it's doing. Probably about a week, more or less. The legs can be pretty stiff sometimes even when relaxed.
Awesome and fascinating video! I have a Giant Congo Train millipede that recently passed. I'm wondering if the procedure and techniques shown here would be applicable to a preserving and mounting a millipede? I know there would be a lot more legs to deal with! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
I apologize for taking so long to reply, I've had a very busy summer. Millipedes are a particular challenge in my experience. When soaked in alcohol they get very stiff and are difficult to position with all the segments in a natural position. I have prepared a couple by leaving them in a curled position to dry. If they are stretched out straight to dry it is difficult to keep the legs from breaking off if they are set upright. They need to be soaked for a long time to dry out properly and this bleaches out the dark color. I prepared a curled up specimen for a museum by painting the dry specimen with acrylic paint to get it back to the natural color. It turned out really well and looked like it could be alive. I will make a video of this sometime when I get around to it.
No, this one was soaking for months because that's how long it took for me to get to it. A couple of weeks should do. Change the liquid out when it discolors and when it comes up mostly clear you should be ready to go.
Once it is dried it will not decompose. If it is exposed to humidity it could get moldy and if certain tiny insects get access to it they could damage the specimen.
Im in Bangkok right now and there is perfect specimen of Monster Centipede on the street that's dead. What can I do to bring her home with me? What kind of alcohol do you use?
I use isopropyl alcohol like you would find at a drug store with the first aid supplies. Try to keep it as flat ans straight as you can while it's in the alcohol. If it's curled up when soaking it will be harder to get it flat.
I've an odd question about preserving a centipede would it make a big difference in doing this if the specimen was frozen b4 being put in rubbing alcohol to set for a few weeks or months reason I'm asking is I was offered one a friend has in his freezer and I wasn't sure if it being frozen would make it harder or say the legs fall off or just anything I'd greatly appreciate any tips in this matter as I've been doing some of my tarantulas and roaches I've had pass away on me saved em in rubbing alcohol but never dine anything that's been frozen
I don't have a definite time. Long enough to kill any bacteria and to dissolve the fats in the body. For a large specimen like this I'd say at least a couple of weeks.
Imagine being able to resin this centipede so lightly but strong enough to wear as a pure necklace.
I dont know why i enjoy the mounting and preservation videos so much 😂😂🤔🤔 i really should study entomology 😃
jessica tanner I'm feeling the same! I say if you are interested in a subject, why not study it? And spending money on any education is money well spent 💕
me too!
And i just started 😊.
Please dont give me the looks, but..
I find all your mounting vídeos so relaxing and fully interesting at the same time! I've loved insects since, like, ever. Keep it up, man. 🐜🐛🐝
My granddaughter's pet centipede Piper died and she was upset about it, I think Piper was one of her favourite pets because the two of them were bonding easily
Yaaay thanks so much for sharing!! This was very interesting to watch; such a complicated project
I just did the same thing with an 11 inch mature female Scolopendra gigantea I had that died of old age. Came out amazing!
Great vid!
That's a BIG centipede! Did you remove any internal tissue?
I've never seen an S. gigantea for sale. How did you find it?
insectsafari They are illegal to import from Peru, and also illegal to own or sell in the States, so it's no wonder you have never seen any for sale. You can by them in Europe tho.
I live in the States where they are illegal, and dam near impossible to aquire, but I have been in the tarantula and insect hobby for 20 years, and have gotten to know slot of people and breeders, and got lucky enough to get to know a guy here in the States who breeds Scolopendra gigantea. It's thru him that I bought 5 of them 9 years ago, and that's how I have them. They are the biggest ped in the world, and I currently have a male that is 12.5 inches. Super aggressive, and super fast...but I love them.
The only specimen I've seen was at the Smithsonian. Very impressive!
I make my living teaching in schools with a large collection of arthropods and I'm always looking for sources of unusual species. If you ever have dead specimens that may be discarded I would be interested in using them as study specimens. I've been trying to increase my tarantula collection with some of the more colorful species but they are difficult to get freshly deceased.
insectsafari I end up with a good supply of preserved colorful tarantulas, mostly Gooty Sapphires and Avics, I will sub and let you know when I have any for you...and maybe a Scolopendra gigantea in a few months, as one of mine has reached its end very soon.
That is a very kind and generous offer, thank you. Perhaps I have something for you as well. Where do you live? I'm in Seattle WA.
Another fantastic video. As others have said, I also find it soothing for some reason. Keep up the excellent work!
This creature... by any essence, it's just a copy of itself with multiple times, some sort of energy saving that Nature do. Copy of the copy of the copy of the copy - easy way to survive, some sort of simplification... Excellent way to construct things... and buildings ! That's what we do too - our architecture, for example !
You are correct that the segmented body plan is a successful strategy.
Arthropods and their Annelid ancestors have distinct evolutionary advantages.
Various useful appendages in Arthropods allow for diverse adaptation. A segment can produce an antenna, mandible, leg, gill, cerci or wing. Segments can be added or subtracted as needed,
This has allowed them to become the dominant taxonomic group that they are today
your voice is amazing and you sound like someone from the twilight zone which is an amazing show by the way
Where do you store the pinned centipede until it dries?
I just leave it out in the room foe a few days to dry. It doesn't take long when it's been soaked in alcohol.
Thanks for your interesting video! So in order to avoid the massive rotting/smell of directly drying and then mounting a freshly dead giant centipede, it would be probably best to first put it into ethanol (70%) and then after some time take it out, and needle it for drying, right?
Yes. Without a solvent bath it will likely be a shriveled, stinking mess. I would let it soak for at least a week and then drain and use fresh alcohol for another week. If that liquid is strongly discolored, replace the liquid again. There will be some shrinking as it dries so use plenty of bracing pins to hold everything in place. Let me know how it comes out!
@@insectsafari Thanks for the information! I am currently trying to obtain some ethanol (I guess, 70% will be sufficient), and will let you know about the result.
hello, the insect in the future is not separated by the divisions of the body? very good video, I really liked this video
I'm certain that Arthropods will continue to have a segmented body. They have been thus for hundreds of millions of years.
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video.
I wonder how the modified legs evolved. For things like camouflage and a manner of living, it's easy to understand. Gradually more and more of the "mutation" survives and eventually every specimen of a species has the "mutation". For the "jaws"... since they're modified legs... how? First just "sharp" legs and later venom?
I used a hair dryer to dry the Scorpio n tarantula. To stay in position for display.
would you have to stuff a huhu beetle from new Zealand to preserve it
I've never seen one, but they look like other locally common Cerambycid beetles so I suspect they would dry out the same without any special treatment. Do you have a specimen?
I like your video it’s very informative and interesting. I was wondering if it’s the same procedure with spiders?
Spiders are a bit of a challenge. They have thin exoskeletons so they tend to shrivel up when they dry. I have had some success soaking them in acetone for weeks to keep them relatively intact. I pin them to a sheet of cork so the legs are in the proper position then I float it upside down in a jar of acetone. I have heard of using the same technique with ether but ether is a controlled substance that requires a permit to buy. I recently discovered that automobile starter fluid contains ether so I'm going to experiment with that at some point.
what kinda alcohol did you used ? :(
70% isopropyl. Denatured alcohol will dry out the specimen too quickly and cause the cuticle to shrivel more.
Very informative video 👏👏. So basically you immersed the insect in alcohol(for how many days? ) , then taken out, stretched the parts and fixed on thermocol to dry it out for few weeks (How many weeks exactly?) And finally some post processing. Please comment on above questions...
As I mentioned in the video, this specimen was in alcohol for a couple of months which is longer than it needed to be for preparation but kept the specimen ready for when I got around to it.
I would keep a fresh specimen like this soaking for at least two weeks, but it might take less time to be ready. I just don't have enough experience to say for certain.
The amount of time it takes for a specimen to dry depends on relative temperatures and humidity and the particular condition of the individual.
When I am waiting for a specimen to dry I will check it every few days by gently probing it to see if it has become rigid.
Thank you, you are soooooo awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
I have a dried centipede and would like to rehydrate it and pin it in an S - shape. Should I soak it in alcohol for a while to allow me to manipulate it? If so, how long should I soak it for?
I would use isopropyl instead of denatured alcohol because it has some water in it. This will help to relax the specimen but prevent decay. It's also a good opportunity to dissolve out some of the lipids that may be remaining in the specimen. I don't know exactly how long to soak it. I'd just check on it every day or so to see how it's doing. Probably about a week, more or less. The legs can be pretty stiff sometimes even when relaxed.
Awesome and fascinating video! I have a Giant Congo Train millipede that recently passed. I'm wondering if the procedure and techniques shown here would be applicable to a preserving and mounting a millipede? I know there would be a lot more legs to deal with! Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
I apologize for taking so long to reply, I've had a very busy summer. Millipedes are a particular challenge in my experience. When soaked in alcohol they get very stiff and are difficult to position with all the segments in a natural position. I have prepared a couple by leaving them in a curled position to dry. If they are stretched out straight to dry it is difficult to keep the legs from breaking off if they are set upright. They need to be soaked for a long time to dry out properly and this bleaches out the dark color. I prepared a curled up specimen for a museum by painting the dry specimen with acrylic paint to get it back to the natural color. It turned out really well and looked like it could be alive. I will make a video of this sometime when I get around to it.
so do you have to soak them for that long in alcohol? I found one today that I want to try to mount but I don't want to wait months to do it :(
No, this one was soaking for months because that's how long it took for me to get to it. A couple of weeks should do. Change the liquid out when it discolors and when it comes up mostly clear you should be ready to go.
After the soak in alcohol they will not decompose anymore?
Once it is dried it will not decompose. If it is exposed to humidity it could get moldy and if certain tiny insects get access to it they could damage the specimen.
insectsafari nice thanks! starting this with my 4 year old son.
soaked in? alcohol? how many days?
I used isopropyl alcohol. This specimen was in alcohol for a couple of months. I would soak a fresh specimen for at least three weeks.
Is that 70% isopropyl or 91%?
It's 70% but I think 91% would be fine to use as well.
What kind of alchohal do you use?
I used 70% isopropyl alcohol.
What alcohol solution do you use for this?
I used 70% isopropyl alcohol.
insectsafari // Thank you! ❤️
Im in Bangkok right now and there is perfect specimen of Monster Centipede on the street that's dead. What can I do to bring her home with me? What kind of alcohol do you use?
I use isopropyl alcohol like you would find at a drug store with the first aid supplies. Try to keep it as flat ans straight as you can while it's in the alcohol. If it's curled up when soaking it will be harder to get it flat.
@@insectsafari the only alcohol I found here is 70% ethanol. Is that alright?
That should work just fine, and you can make a nice cocktail when you're done.
@@insectsafari hahaha! I looked at the bottle again and it says ethyl. Thanks for a great video
@@lindalu8565 Yeah, don't drink that!
This will be a model
If you mean a sample specimen of the species for teaching and research, then yes.
That is so cool!!!
Lads wear gloves!
Creepy
😝
I've an odd question about preserving a centipede would it make a big difference in doing this if the specimen was frozen b4 being put in rubbing alcohol to set for a few weeks or months reason I'm asking is I was offered one a friend has in his freezer and I wasn't sure if it being frozen would make it harder or say the legs fall off or just anything I'd greatly appreciate any tips in this matter as I've been doing some of my tarantulas and roaches I've had pass away on me saved em in rubbing alcohol but never dine anything that's been frozen
How many months does it need to be soaked??
I don't have a definite time. Long enough to kill any bacteria and to dissolve the fats in the body. For a large specimen like this I'd say at least a couple of weeks.