A different pinning style for Chrysina !

[trehopr1]

I thought that I would show fellow members a different style in preparing their beautiful shining leaf chafers (Chrysina).
This method moves the specimens pin from the traditional position (of the right wing cover) to the far end of the abdomen
just below where the forewings meet.
By placing the specimens pin here you never puncture a wing cover. The pins placement allows the specimen to be held fast
to the spreading board or block that you use. The item is than brace pinned to avoid body movement (left or right) and the legs
and antennae are then teased out in a pleasing manner or pose.
I use a no.#2 pin. If done carefully, the pin will cleanly pass thru the beetle straight as an arrow without ever intruding on the
actual leg attachment areas of the coxa and trochanter. Intrusion of those 2 places could mean a leg being "popped out" but, than
that is always possible even using the standard method (should the pin go in badly angled) !
I find the results very pleasing and recommend at least trying it a time or two yourself to see what you think. I must confess that
it was seeing a friends Chrysina holdings pinned in this unique style which prompted me to try it. Furthermore, a data label will
comfortably fit underneath .
With the cost of some of these beetles ranging from 40 to 150 bucks or so a piece; some collectors disdain the thought of ever
piercing the gorgeous wing covers with a pin. Still others are loathe to glue them to a card as possible removal down the road could mean leg breakage (should the glue be akin to gorilla glue with age) !
Just some food for thought here. Maybe not necessarily a revolutionary idea but, an option to be sure.

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[Paul K]

Superior job in positioning legs and antennas , that is the way that properly spread beetle should look like !
The pin not so pleasant looking for me as it is much more visible this way as it is at the angle.
Is it possible to to pin this way but at 90°?

[phalaecus]

I wonder if that pin might procure any damage to the genital apparatus, which is usually important to determine the specimens at species level. Don't forget that our specimens, a part of any aesthetic value, have all a scientific value if properly set and provided with adequate collecting data.

[trehopr1]

Hello Paul K, I myself have not tried pinning any of these at a steeper angle but, I suppose it would be worth a try to see the result (provided you have a couple spares lying about -- not in mint shape) to experiment on. These two I tried this on were mint so there was'nt much room for error or experimentation. As for the un-sightly length of the pin; that can easily be remedied by neatly clipping the pin shorter (with the proper tool).
Phalaecus, a worthy concern well made. My placement of the pin put it 3 abdomen segments before the end. Because of the sharp angle it did'nt look to me to be imposing on the genetalia. However, in all sincerity I did not give that much thought as the main concern was "threading the needle" so to speak straight through without impeding the leg structures in any way.
A steeper angle of the pin would most likely result in genetalia damage I'm sure. Perhaps, use of a smaller and thinner (no.#1) pin would be less intrusive. Overall, I don't ever expect anything like this to catch on wildly but, it potentially offers some collectors an alternative which they in turn may like or even improve upon....

[nomihoudai]

...and then the whole abdomen breaks off, and your 40 bucks are gone...