Hi all, new to this sub but not new to specimens. I'm moving & all of my stuff has been in storage for 2 years (kept wet specimens with me, but packed dry specimens in storage... didn't know it was going to be for 2 years).

My other specimens have all been perfectly fine but this one that I've had for over 5yrs now unfortunately grew mold all over the abdomen. Of course it had to happen to one of my favorites.

I'm about to try opening the shadow box & cleaning it up the best I can, is this possible? Any saving it? Advice would be great, thanks!

Long story short I had a cicada get into my dorm a while back and it ended up leaving its final molted shell in my dorm. At some point i gotta go back home and i have no clue how to tranport it properly or keep it safe. Is it possible for me to get it a small display box of some kind that will look nice and keep it intact?

Hello! I bought a death heads mouth from an estate sale last week. The back says it was done in 1948 which is really cool. The only problem is whoever pinned it didn't brush the fur down so you could see the skull imagery on it. I was wondering how hard would it be/ is it advisable that I open it up and try and brush it down?

I've never pinned a bug so I'm leaning towards no but I wanted to check with people who actually knew what they were talking about.

I got this 2 years ago for Christmas and I picked it up today to clean the shelf around it and it looks almost molded? Is there anything I can do about this? I'm not sure exactly where it's from other than some shop on etsy.

I got a death head moth as a gift recently and I’ve been collecting bugs for a while, but for some reason this moth absolutely reeks. Stinks like rot, the whole frame does. I’m confused because I didn’t think insects smelled like that, what is likely the issue? Is it just not properly dried? Should I throw it out?

I have 3 moths I need to pin right now, I have everything I need to pin them, but I'm not sure what the best way to display them is. I want to make sure that they don't get damaged.

Hello! I have never preserved a specimen before, but I found a beautiful cecropia moth dead in the parking lot at work this morning. It’s abdomen is very squished at the bottom, but the wings are stunning and the thorax and head area seem to look undamaged. Is there any hope in preserving it?

I cannot find another subreddit for pinning creatures, but I have a spider I’m really proud of and want to share it. I know the description of the subreddit specifies insects but the name of it seems more encompassing. I completely understand if I can’t post that here!

Keep in mind this is my first time pinning/preserving something of this size. I recently found a dead cicada & decided to give pinning a try, 2 days later, it started to smell. is there a way to neutralize the smell?

Does anyone have any tips for preserving the colors of pinned insects? I usually gut and stuff insects like mantises and grasshoppers, but even then there is some discoloration. My grasshopper recently died and I'd like to keep the vibrant yellow he has. I read something about "baking" them in the oven to dry them really quickly, but I can't find that source again. Thanks in advance!

I am making this post so that those who have not heard the good news can hear it now: Bioquip bugs is back! It was bought and is now being run by an Entomology PhD student in Los Angeles named Royce Cumming. He took the over 3 million+ specimen collection and is reopening it to keep selling all of the amazing specimens they have! For those of us who have been missing having a great vendor for insect specimens, this news couldn't be coming at a better time.

Please be aware that this is not the supply side of the company where we have gotten our pins and hardware and nets and the like for decades, but is the specimen side of the company.

I found a dead little western yellow jacket at my work in the warehouse, I brought it home and plan to preserve it in alcohol, before I do tho, is there any way I can clean the dust off it? It so small and delicate and I don't want to ruin it

last summer, i found a beautiful Polyphemus moth in my friends pool. i took it home and it ended up sitting in a container without any disinfection for almost a year. when i opened it today in hopes of pinning it, it had a bad smell. this is definitely my fault, as this is my first time ever working with bugs and i didn't do adequate prep. how do i get rid of the smell? i saw someone say they soaked their Hercules beetle in alcohol for a week, but im not sure if that would work with a moth since they're much more fragile (plus mine has a bit of damage since it was in a pool for a little while). please let me know! thanks

edit: i wanted to mention that though i found it in a pool, i let it dry for a significant amount of time before putting it in a container to store it, so i don't think leftover moisture is the reason for the smell, although humidity in the air might have had something to do with it

Does anyone know of any pinning services? Or anyone on here skilled and willing to do it for money. My Ghost mantis just passed away and I want her pinned, but after a failed attempt at pinning in the past would prefer someone with more talent to do it.

At some point during brood x I found an area scattered with loose cicada wings and I just couldn't help myself so I snatched them up and have had them sitting in a baggie ever since. I've been meaning to do something with them and with me moving in February the task feels more urgent as I don't want them to get damaged. Issue is I have no clue what to do with them, any suggestions?

I was out on a walk today when I found a dragonfly lying legs-up on the path; it was still alive but barely moving and its head seemed stuck in a crooked position. I put it on a rock to let nature run its course, but when I came back three hours later it was still there, but dead. Now I want to preserve it.

I have tried looking up methods on the internet but there are wildly varying advices. For example, does this count as a "big" dragonfly that needs to be gutted? Can I simply let it air dry? Will the colours fade one way or another?

Can someone walk me through the process? I have no specialized equipment except some basic arts-and-crafts tools. I can go to the store to get stuff tomorrow.

Hey guys, I would like to use some cicada wings for a necklace I'm making. Any tips on how to cleanly remove the wings without a lot of damage?