Urgent severe problem with glassine spreading stripes

[luehdorfia]

Dear fellow collectors,

I just found out that my glassine stripes that I use for spreading always take off some of the scales of
the butterfly wings. I really dont know why.
The butterflies were freshly caught during the day, then spread in the evening, and then dried on the
spreading boards for 14 days. The boards are samba wood, and I put them in a very dry room, there was
no problem with moisture.
Did I perhaps use the wrong side of the glassine stripes? Are there two different sides? Did I press the
glassine stripes too strong on the wings? Should I have the butterfly wings spread lossely under the glassine
stripes? I always made the glassine as flat as possible, spreading the wings as flat as possible.
Please see attached the photo of the glassine stripes after taking them off the wings, you can see the
small scales that stick to the glassine stripes. You can see the effect also on the butterfly, actually it was very
fresh but after spreading and the glassine stripes taking off some scales it looks like having been flying around for
a few days. I would be grateful for any hints and tips and help on how to improve my spreading technique.

[cabintom]

I don't use glassine strips, but the clear plastic strips I use are susceptible to static. If I don't get rid of the static before using them, I have the same problem.

[Paul K]

I stopped using glassine stripes for two reasons :
I can not clearly see thru when I position the wings and I have notice the same problem with scales.
I use clear plastic paper which is used for gift wrapping .
However I still sometimes notice the problem even without static .
satyrinae and Lycaenidae are mostly effected as I am assuming the scales are attached to the wings not as strong as other Lepidoptera .
I am trying not to press directly over the wings when spreading to hold them.
Never touch the surface with your fingers as you would transfer oil and grease which in effect will remove the scales too .

Paul

[nomihoudai]

You are pressing too much onto the wings when setting them. I use the same paper, and never had any problem like this.

[Deleted]

Yes the problem is the amount of pressure you are exerting during the setting process. I myself have used ordinary grease proof paper for setting for decades without one problem.

[luehdorfia]

Thank you guys, I think that was the problem. I tried it today without exerting too much pressure and I will see the results in two weeks and share my findings with you.

cabintom How do you get rid of the static before using the stripes?

Thank you all again for these quick responses.

[neominois]

Sometimes I notice a little scaling of the strip when I remove the specimen from the pinning board, however it is such a small amount I have never noticed an affect on the specimen.

[cabintom]

Jul 17, 2016 22:28:23 GMT luehdorfia said:

How do you get rid of the static before using the stripes?

Sorry, was on vacation this past week. I just wipe the strip with something damp, and then pat it dry before use.
I know I have a static issue when I move the strip near the wing and the wing rises towards the strip. No wing movement, no static.

I should note, the plastic strips I use are cut from sheets intended to store collectable cards.

[luehdorfia]

Thanks again to everyone for the quick help. I removed the stripes of two weeks ago and there were no scales anymore left on the stripes, it was definitely too much pressure and too many needles around the specimens.