Thursday, September 18, 2003

If you're wondering about my bugs, here's the skinny.

I learned how to properly kill and mount insects when I took my entomology course in university. I think it was one of the few things that was actually useful and that I remembered :)

I keep the bugs in old film containers and now in empty med bottles from work until I'm ready to mount them. I put them in the freezer and that kills them rather quickly. Then it's just a matter of mounting them and getting them propery positioned on the styrofoam. Then the fun starts. I have to haul out my good ol' Field Guide To Insects and try to figure out which species they are!

Then I print out a little nametag ["Hi! My name is ORNITHOPTERA MISCIDIA."] and put that on the styrofoam too.

I also picked up some varnish this time around to see if I can get the bugs even better preserved. I had a great collection when I was at university, but I had to give it up for my project. I bet they still have some of my bugs on display there. Only thing I really enjoyed for all of 3rd year was staying in the entomology lab overnight, puttering away on my bugs.

I'll post pictures once I get them mounted. I think I'll probably work on it tomorrow. Woo.

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