Preparing Pachyrhynchus

[bandrow]

Greetings!

I have just made my first attempt to prepare some specimens of Pachyrhynchus and have discovered that they might just be one of the hardest beetle groups out there. Does anyone have any good tips on getting a pin through these without bending the pin or damaging the specimen? I tried opening a hole with a larger pin on the dorsal surface, and then switching to a smaller pin to exit the bottom - this often works with hard specimens - but the pin won't exit the bottom any easier than it enters the top. Platens are an option, but I don't like to use them. Maybe some kind of tiny jeweler's drill bit?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Bandrow

[Deleted]

i've never tried pinning pachy's, but have you tried heating a small pin up to see if you can get a hole started that way? You could try on an A2 specimen first?