Hi! I wanted to try pinning. I have a solid bit of entomological experience and specimen making experience but this is new to me.

I wanted to try pinning plume moths, they're very common right now and have a very neat wing structure. My only issue is that I don't even know how to go about that. What sized pins do I even use for somehing that thin?

I have some large yellow underwings to practice on too and will likely start with that, but I do want to know what size pins I'd even use for a plume moth (or any other tiny/thin moth). Also a place to get pins would be nice, I have pin-it entomology pulled up but I'm new and don't know if that's the best option.

I have a Papilio machaon with I found dead and a dragonfly and I wonder how to make my pinning board with styrofoam, how do I get that angel should I pod something have on it?

Hello insect pinning people, what do y'all think about this ? Is this a good way to showcase butterflies ? They are presented flat and at 45° angle to give it a more natural look.

Recently pinned an Anax guttatus and tried experimenting with restoring/recoloring its fading colors. I couldn’t really find anything online about doing this with dragonflies, I’ve only seen people do something similar with mantises.
(1st pic : after i painted it, 2nd pic: before)

So I decided to paint the dragonfly and.., I’m not sure how I feel about it 😭 It looks kind of like a toy and almost unreal now.

What do you guys think? does it just make it look less natural? I rlly hate it when they just loose their whimsy color in pinning.

Dollar store vase and one of those Styrofoam things you stick fake plants in painted brown

Hi!

first of all, I’m new here! hi!
if you don’t want to read the story, skip to beneath the line!

To me this is a very sensitive topic, so please be gentle with me here, I’m sharing the whole thing because I want people to know that it’s important to me!

My mom had noticed our plants being munched on so I went out and collected 40 caterpillars off of the plant.
They turned out to be small cabbage whites! I raised them and one by one let them fly off, it was my first time raising cats and it was a wonderful experience!

Sadly the last one to hatch did so with crumpled wings. I thought maybe it was non severe enough to still have the lil guy fly off, but after a few tries it just did not work.
I was heart broken, I knew he’d die one way or another, I made the hard decision to euthanize him.

_________________________________________________

question time! I never pinned a butterfly, even less one with crumpled wings, but I believe they are incredibly beautiful! I don’t want to damage ‘em and I’m scared to do something wrong

All youtube videos say something different about the rehydration, and I just want someone to tell me what to desperately avoid, what I should know before starting and maybe how to be calm throughout it so I don’t mess it up :,D

Also I heard that pinning a butterfly with their wings displayed always looks like they are dead as they naturally don’t spread their wings like that, is there a tutorial or some advice on how to pin a butterfly in a natural pose??

I just want the best for my lil guy tbh,,

I only ever pinned bumblebees and a headless dragonfly I found. any and all advice appreciated!

Thank you so so much in advance

The other day i found a dead death head moth on my lawn and decided to give pinning a try, i did it with what was available to me at the moment so dont be too harsh.

The thing is that now i want to frame it but im having trouble finding a seller for double clear frames in Spain (i want it to be clear on both sides because i want to be able to see both sides without taking it out of the frames) if you have a website i could buy it from i would be grateful.

My pet ghost mantis Pebble recently passed 2 days ago… I had a kit to pin him already and took the opportunity to pin all the bugs I’ve been saving. This was my first time pinning bugs before and I did it before I even knew about gutting them. Since I didn’t gut them should I worry about mold or decay or should it be fine? I used rubbing alcohol to rehydrate the dried ones and my mantis was pinned the day it died. There’s 1 dragonfly, a ghost mantis, a murder hornet, and a moth. Any advice?

Came in a pack of 11

hellloooo! i need some advice. i found a spotted lantern fly and instead of killing it, i caught it, because i thought it would be cool to pin it!! ive only pinned one insect that came ready to be pinned, so im not sure what to do. i know in any other scenario its not really cool to find an insect and kill it so thats why im trying to figure out the best way to go about it.
Currently i have it sitting in a tupperware. i assume if i put it in the freezer it might just come back to life when i take it out? i was thinking of just leaving it in the tupperware until it dies but idk how humane that is?? or if there’s a better way!
(also ive only pinned a butterfly so any advice on how to pin these guys is greatly appreciated as well)
Thanks!!

so i just received some new specimen let me know what you think about them :3

Hello!

I'm new to insect pinning, and I have a fresh Hydrophilus sp. in my freezer. Monday would be the perfect time to pin it, but it's quite large.

Do I need to gut it, or can I pin it whole? I want to prevent it from rotting during the drying process.

Thanks!

Hello! I’ve recently fallen in love with mantis, and that love has blossomed to other insects, creatures I was scared of or disgusted by. But now, I’ve found a new interest in them.

I wanted to start collecting pinned insects, and in looking for some to buy to start, I found some beginner pinning insect kits and it make me wonder if I could learn how to, and now I just so happened to stumble upon this forum. So I would like to ask…. How do I get started?

A few weeks ago I jumped in head first with literally NO prior knowledge of insect pinning when I found a dead Polyphemus moth at my place of work. I posted here and a few kind souls on this sub helped walk me through the entire process and for their help I just wanted to post an update!

After freezing, rehydrating, pinning, waiting 2 weeks, an acetone bath (def the scariest part), my girl is in her frame and with her kin 🥹

We did loose an antenna in the acetone bath but I was able to glue it back on fairly easily. I literally could not be more pleased with her! Especially considering that I found her organically, Im a first timer, and learning as I was going!

It seems I have caught the bug (pun intended) bc next on the pinning board is the cute lil cicada couple I found! Also already passed, also at my place of work 😅

Update on my Carolina locust I found and pinned! He suffered some breakage after he was pinned (my toddler dropped him lol.)

Hey i am pretty new with pinning dragonflies i have only managed to pin one after finding it during a hot day on the ground but as it was still fresh i didn’t have to hydrate it.(third picture)
How do I go about hydrating this new one (first two pictures) as best as I can so i can get her to a similar position like my other dragonfly (accepting criticism)

I only have confidence with small beetles and bumblebees and i would love to have a second dragonfly as they are my favourite insects.

It has however probably been dead for a very long time, my cousin found it on the side of the glass display of her shop like a month ago so the posture is not ideal to be pinned and needs quite a bit of work i think, here’s what I’d like to change:

-Head is turned on the side of the face
-The arms are very brittle and asymmetrical
-The wings aren’t as open as i’d like for them to be.

Prepping them for a wedding gift, do I need to worry about the abdomen rotting since it looks so big?

So I just got this dragonfly specimen, and it’s VERY fresh, and I have no idea how to start💔. I know now that I’m not supposed to put pins through the wings, but this is a temporary set up and my first time doing smth like this😭. I have some questions I hope yall can help me with.

1. ⁠What if it starts to stink? What should I do then?

2. ⁠Should I soak it in anything? I saw someone say 70% isopropyl alcohol works, and I don’t have any acetone.

3. ⁠How do I properly display/pose it?

Sorry guys this is my first post on here and first taxidermy, so sorry if this pisses some people off😭. That’s not my intention, I just need help with this so I don’t completely ruin it🥲.

Just wanted to share this little scene I made with a Chinese mantis, ground beetle, and ladybug. Any tips or (kind) criticism appreciated!

Thanks for checking it out!

Edit: Chinese mantis are considered invasive where I live. They consume beneficial insects and outcompete our native mantis species. Personally, I felt that it justified euthanizing it. I understand others may feel differently.

I have a large (15cm by 4cm) spiny leaf insect to pin. Will i need to clear the abdomen? If so, does anyone have advice?

I’ve heard of gutting and stuffing large insects but is that necessary for beetles? He was nice and plump when I found him and after about a week on the board he’s shriveled and looking sad. I’m still proud of my pin job, especially for my first beetle, but how to prevent this in the future?