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Post by wollastoni on Mar 18, 2021 8:57:31 GMT -8
I have just posted an article in the InsectNet Blog with a great technique to relax your dried butterflies or moths : insectnet.com/blog/insect-collecting/how-relax-rehydrate-butterfly Some of you may already use this method, I have tried it and it is so simple and efficient. Much better than the water or gin injection, the 3-days in a jar with wet sands and so on... It has just CHANGED my life ! Specimens are like fresh in less than 24 hours, no broking antennae, no grease, no mold. It is a pity I have lost 30 years (and damaged several specimens) without trying it ! I hope it will help some of you.
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Post by exoticimports on Mar 18, 2021 12:38:05 GMT -8
Interesting. But I would think refrigeration would slow the absorption of the water, and delay the relaxation. Any ideas?
Also, the wings still looked a bit stiff to me.
And, I'd caution everyone who watches the video: NEVER touch the wings with your fingers- NEVER.
Wondering about the refrigeration thing. If cold somehow expedites relaxation, Paul should be able to put the tupperware on his deck and have the specimen relaxed in about 15 minutes.
Chuck
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Post by nomihoudai on Mar 18, 2021 12:53:32 GMT -8
The cold air needs less amount of water to reach 100% humidity. Hot air can hold more water and will need a lot more evaporation to reach 100%.
I started to use styrofoam floating on water for smaller specimen, but I never tried with a fridge. In my method there is free water in the box, so I usually avoided moving it around.
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Post by willyomt on Mar 18, 2021 13:38:57 GMT -8
Is it safe to assume that this method will also work for relaxing beetles?
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Post by gaspipe on Mar 18, 2021 15:52:51 GMT -8
Seems to good to be true ; but I’am definitely going to give that method a shot .
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Post by kevinkk on Mar 18, 2021 17:20:55 GMT -8
Okay, I'll try it with my current dead stock, my Ornithoptera. I could use some help, because now it's taking a week with periodic injections of water and a close eye on on possible mold. I will be posting my results for sure, I'm going to put a male O. croesus toeantei in the fridge tonight.
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Post by livingplanet3 on Mar 18, 2021 17:26:02 GMT -8
I have just posted an article in the InsectNet Blog with a great technique to relax your dried butterflies or moths : insectnet.com/blog/insect-collecting/how-relax-rehydrate-butterfly Some of you may already use this method, I have tried it and it is so simple and efficient. Much better than the water or gin injection, the 3-days in a jar with wet sands and so on... It has just CHANGED my life ! Specimens are like fresh in less than 24 hours, no broking antennae, no grease, no mold. It is a pity I have lost 30 years (and damaged several specimens) without trying it ! I hope it will help some of you. Many thanks for this information! Have you found it to work well even for Ornithoptera, and large Saturniidae?Okay, I'll try it with my current dead stock, my Ornithoptera. I could use some help, because now it's taking a week with periodic injections of water and a close on on possible mold. I will be posting my results for sure, I'm going to put a male O. croesus toeantei in the fridge tonight. Looking forward to hearing about your results in relaxing Ornithoptera using this method, kevinkk.
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Post by bandrow on Mar 18, 2021 17:27:35 GMT -8
Greetings,
I may be wrong, but I didn't see any antennae on that specimen when he opened the toweling after having it in the fridge. Maybe a different specimen for purposes of filming? However - the flopping around of the dry specimen inside the towel in the beginning would be a great way to break off antennae!
To do this, I would suggest placing the towel in the tupperware FIRST - then wet it, lay the specimen onto the towel, and then gently fold the towel down over it.
I would also question whether the direct contact with water wouldn't stain some specimens - I know there are beetles that I wouldn't get wet in this manner for fear of matting down and staining pubescence...
I guess all methods have their advantages and disadvantages...
Cheers! Bandrow
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Post by Paul K on Mar 18, 2021 18:08:39 GMT -8
Greetings, I may be wrong, but I didn't see any antennae on that specimen when he opened the toweling after having it in the fridge. Maybe a different specimen for purposes of filming? However - the flopping around of the dry specimen inside the towel in the beginning would be a great way to break off antennae! To do this, I would suggest placing the towel in the tupperware FIRST - then wet it, lay the specimen onto the towel, and then gently fold the towel down over it. I would also question whether the direct contact with water wouldn't stain some specimens - I know there are beetles that I wouldn't get wet in this manner for fear of matting down and staining pubescence... I guess all methods have their advantages and disadvantages... Cheers! Bandrow I took time to compare both specimens and it is one and the same specimen ( Urania ripheus always has different pattern of the wings at least to a small little detail). He of course broke off the antennas at the first place, but they are not in the towel as he already moved the moth and removed antennas. The moth was in the different position in the towel when he placed it at the beginning of the video. Should I apply for private detective position?
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Post by kevinkk on Mar 18, 2021 19:43:24 GMT -8
He wasn't very careful with the specimen, but I missed the antennae issue. It will be interesting to try with larger bodied insects. I would have liked to see him spread the specimen though, at any rate, we'll find out soon enough, I think Exotic Imports is correct, while the wings seemed supple, it did seem the wings were a little stiff, but, some fresh specimens I spread can be difficult at times, I just set 2 Eurytides marcellus and one gave me a little problem. I'm going to have to look up the correct term for the front of the forewing..you know, that stiff part.
Ok, it's a "costa". I'm sure I knew that already. I watched his video about how to spread a specimen, and he uses the same moth, it's fully relaxed, and he doesn't have any problems moving the wings.
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Post by Crake on Mar 18, 2021 20:24:39 GMT -8
I have just posted an article in the InsectNet Blog with a great technique to relax your dried butterflies or moths : insectnet.com/blog/insect-collecting/how-relax-rehydrate-butterfly Some of you may already use this method, I have tried it and it is so simple and efficient. Much better than the water or gin injection, the 3-days in a jar with wet sands and so on... It has just CHANGED my life ! Specimens are like fresh in less than 24 hours, no broking antennae, no grease, no mold. It is a pity I have lost 30 years (and damaged several specimens) without trying it ! I hope it will help some of you. Many thanks for this information! Have you found it to work well even for Ornithoptera, and large Saturniidae?Okay, I'll try it with my current dead stock, my Ornithoptera. I could use some help, because now it's taking a week with periodic injections of water and a close on on possible mold. I will be posting my results for sure, I'm going to put a male O. croesus toeantei in the fridge tonight. Looking forward to hearing about your results in relaxing Ornithoptera using this method, kevinkk.I've only tried this a few times on Ornithoptera—but repeatedly injecting them with hot water and perforating the wing muscles with a pin works well for me. I fully relaxed an O. croesus lydius within 10 minutes using this method.
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 19, 2021 1:23:10 GMT -8
Few answers : read my full article, I have added some important tips to this video (as keeping the specimen in an open enveloppe (see the picture in the article) to prevent stains and broken antennae) I tried it on several rare Delias, and it is perfect ! (in about 16 hours) I tried it on Agrias too and it works well too (in about 24 hours) Don't worry for antennae, they are perfectly relaxed too. For example, this Delias messalina gerrittsi female was like fresh when I spread it ! I haven't tried on very large Ornitho or Saturniidae. Maybe few hours more should do the trick. The fridge must make all the difference. It speeds up the relaxation and prevent mold to appear. You have to find the right level of humidity though, don't put too much water on your first trial, leave the specimens more than 24 hours if not totally relaxed (and put more water next time).
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Post by bobw on Mar 19, 2021 1:43:30 GMT -8
If this works it really is a game changer! I'd given up setting dried specimens due to an inability to get them sufficiently relaxed to avoid damaging them.
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Post by exoticimports on Mar 19, 2021 2:23:50 GMT -8
Wife is gonna love this. Bugs in the fridge. She already tolerates so much.
Chuck
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Post by wollastoni on Mar 19, 2021 4:18:34 GMT -8
If this works it really is a game changer! I'd given up setting dried specimens due to an inability to get them sufficiently relaxed to avoid damaging them. Have a try, a real game-changer indeed ! I am now spreading 3x more leps because it is faster and less boring. As specimens are perfectly relaxed, I need only 5 minutes to spread them.
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