Insect Pinning - Tumblr Posts

good god this looks like a medieval torture device for bugs

(IM JUST TRYING TO POSE THE LEGS 😭😭IT LOOKS SO HORRIFYING)

also BAM butterfly wing i found on the ground today as well (plus the finished cicada >:3)

Okay so I've had a few ppl do this tag game and not know what my url is so here's an elaboration :D

(apparently another case of my autistic ass finding like super specific stuff relating to my interests and not realizing it isn't actually common information 😭)

But in case you didn't know my url is a slight misspelling of a name for a family in the Lepidoptera order! (moths & butterflies)

They contain the largest Lepidoptera, and some of the largest living insects overall– a good example would be the Atlas moth, with an impressive wingspan of 24 cm! (larger than the average human hand) which is also probably my all time favorite moth!!!

Anyways my url is based off me going by Moth online (which is also related to my actual name, funnily enough). It's not just for aesthetics bro I am a dedicated Saturniidae and Lepidoptera super fan.

I've a big fascination with (ethical! Always do research before purchasing taxidermy and related items!!) insect pinning as well; I've got a rather small collection I'm currently working on expanding, a few years back I went to a pinning class for a deathshead moth (though I've yet to put it up 💀) and it was really fun!!! I think these animals are genuinely so beautiful and endearing they deserve to have their beauty preserved and shared with the world (especially considering they have such short lifespans) as well as finding the practice of insect pinning for educational purposes fun! Ironically I have an aversion to live insects but still love learning about them! :)

Anyways I hope anyone who follows me/is a mutual and wasn't sure what my url meant finds this helpful! Sorry it kind of turned into a bug ramble

Picture of my collection below the cut!!!

The Atlas (top left) is what got me into collecting, it was a birthday gift from my mom :D

Sorry this isn't a great picture but it's like 3am rn so it's not like the lighting would be any better 😭

You'll need to relax them first, so they aren't brittle. Then pin them on a spreading board like you'd pin it if the body were there, just estimate the size of the body. Be careful where you handle the wings (it should be from the biggest vein only) and be careful not to pin through them. To mount them, I'd suggest using insect glue not pins to not damage the wings.

Some of my favourite articles on insect pinning:

One (this one's a pdf btw)

Two

Three

Four

Five

Anyone have any knowledge or resources on how to mount moth wings? Literally just the wings, though.

Because every article about insect mounting I've found so far only talks about mounting the entire insect, but I've only got the wings that were scavenged from the ground.

So a few months ago I took a class at a Craft studio her in my local town and it was for learning to how to spread and pin Butterflies. It's something I have wanted to do for... Well since I found it was a thing so.. This one here was my first one and turns out I absolute loved it and I'm hoping I can do something more with it.. I will post my other one from my intermediate class right after this.

This one I believe is a Common Jay which is the common name.. If I'm wrong let me know.

bug time