i recently found the most beautiful butterfly on the ground the other day. come to find out the butterfly was dead, however it was laying sitting there on it's legs with its beautiful wings spread out. i want to preserve it and put it in a frame and hang it up in my office. if anyone knows how i go about doing this please let me know.
2006-09-14 11:49:32 · 7 answers · asked by luvergurl2585 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Other - Visual Arts
Oh I love butterflies too, but I would rather look at the live ones than a dead one.
2006-09-14 11:56:03 · answer #1 · answered by Rustic 4 · 0⤊ 5⤋
First, don't put a butterfly or moth in any liquid!! It will take all the scales off the wings and leave it worthless. Butterflies are tricky, because no matter how carefully you handle them, they will constantly be shedding scales off their wings.
First be sure the insect is still flexible enough to be able to work with--if it is too dry, parts will start snapping off when you try to handle or shape it. You can rehydrate it by simply putting it into a tupperware container with a damp paper towel for a few hours (be sure the towel is not touching the insect).
Locate some insect pins of the proper size (you can these offline, or from a science store). Ever so carefully, pierce the thorax of the butterfly (the middle section where the legs and wings sprout from) with the pin, so that it is perpendicular to the body. Push the pin through until the body is about a quarter way from the top.
It may become necessary to "spread" the wings if they are not perfectly spread out. Take a piece of styrofoam which has a groove running through it, wide enough for the body to fit inside, and deep enough that you can push the insect down until the wings are laying flat against the styrofoam. You can use strips of paper, pinned at the edges, to carefully lay the wings flat, and make sure they are symmetrical to each other. If the abdomen is sagging down, prop it up with pins as well.
Here is a site that illustrates the spreading process in a lot of detail (with pictures): http://www.insectcompany.com/howto/butterfly-setting.shtml
When the butterfly dries, take off the strips of paper, and pin it to whatever surface you would like to display it on. If you like, use an insect guide to key out its identity, then you can print out a label to display beneath it.
Good luck!
2006-09-15 03:01:59 · answer #2 · answered by entoaggie 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How To Preserve Insects
2016-09-28 21:11:57 · answer #3 · answered by pharisien 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pin the center of the butterfly (the thorax) to polyethylene foam (from a craft store) with a straight pin and glue the wings to the foam with a very small amount of clear nail polish.
You can cover the foam in decorative paper before you pin and glue the butterfly. Frame it in a display case at least two inches thick, and you're all set.
Good luck!
2006-09-14 12:05:28 · answer #4 · answered by Michelle M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think you can put them in alcohol for about 5 minutes and then let them dry out thoroughly. Then you can either stick it on a needle in a 3D frame or flatten it between 2 pieces of paper in a book.
2006-09-14 11:59:59 · answer #5 · answered by sour_apple 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Find the tree that oozes the proper sap, submerge the insect
completely in the stuff, and then wait a few hundred-thousand
years......(you'll need to bring a book.).
2006-09-14 12:20:56 · answer #6 · answered by leetledivineone 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stick them in a bottle of Formaldyhyde? Or don't you stick them on a needle board after treating them to get ri of all the moisture?
2006-09-14 11:57:14 · answer #7 · answered by ~*Prodigious*~ 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋