I've only very recently begun to get interested in insect pinning, but, like with all my (usually) fleeting ideas, I've thrown myself into it head first. I've read books, articles, watched videos; I've ordered pins and forceps and aerial nets. And suddenly today, I happened upon a moth, which will become the first insect I've ever pinned.
I scooped him into a jar. It looked like he had died on the windowsill. I left him in the jar for the rest of the day so I could run some errands. I finally was able to get a closer look at him, and I plopped him on his back onto my hand. Now, this is the first time I've ever really handled a bug, so I was working through some instinctual queasiness. I worked up the courage to see if he was still soft enough to work with, which you do by applying pressure to the thorax. If they're too dry to move around without fear of breaking, then you put them in a relaxation chamber for a few days, and they rehydrate. So I gently pushed down on his 'underbelly' and found he hadn't dried out. I left him in my hand as I considered my next move.
I hadn't received my insect pins yet, so I needed to decide whether I wanted to leave him and let him dry out and then put him in a relaxation chamber, or if I wanted to just go ahead and pin him with some sewing pins. So there I was, dead moth in hand, when all of a sudden, his legs all flexed.
Dead as a doornail, right?
I could either construct a kill jar and put him out of his possible misery, or I could leave him until he 'expires' on his own, which I figure will be a couple days, and will give my pins more time to get here. I haven't decided what to do yet.
It's a little late to kill and pin him, so I guess I'll just leave him overnight and see where we stand in the morning. He definitely seems a little perkier, he's moving his legs more and displaying his antennae.
I named him Atlas Vermouth.
On a partially related note, this book came in the mail today. I guess maybe I'm going through a 'mad scientist' phase.
