Post by betta132 on Jun 25, 2016 8:23:10 GMT
I have an Eastern Hercules beetle that needs to be relaxed. As far as I'm aware, it was fairly freshly dead when found, but it had already stiffened with its legs stuck almost straight up- perhaps as a consequence of its manner of death? It ran afoul of the pesticide perimeter around a building, which is why I don't know how long it was dead. It isn't all dried out, it still has some weight to it, so I think it probably hasn't been dead for too long.
It's been in a relaxing chamber for about 36 hours, and it doesn't seem to have loosened anyway, but I might not be doing this right- I searched the Internet for techniques, and nobody seems to be able to agree on methods. I got an airtight tupperware container and put some wet paper towels on the bottom, with some mouthwash dripped on to keep mold from growing. I then put the beetle on top of a small plastic lid to keep it off the towels, closed the lid, and left it. After about 12 hours, I checked, realized that there was no humidity in the box, and moved it onto the top of my fish tank lid. The light in the lid provides a little bit of warmth, enough that the inside of the box is now warm (maybe 75-80F?) and very humid.
The beetle hasn't loosened, though. Do I just need to leave it in there for longer, or should I try something else? I mostly need to get the base joints of the legs loosened up so I can put it in a pose other than "cartoon dead bug".
Also, I snapped the lower segment off one of the legs while attempting to see if the legs would flex at all. Which was dumb. What's the best way to put it back on, after relaxing and posing? I read something about using a tiny bit of half-dried Elmer's glue, and that seems like it might work.
And are there any particular concerns when pinning large beetles, aside from just making sure that enough of the pin sticks out on either side?
It's been in a relaxing chamber for about 36 hours, and it doesn't seem to have loosened anyway, but I might not be doing this right- I searched the Internet for techniques, and nobody seems to be able to agree on methods. I got an airtight tupperware container and put some wet paper towels on the bottom, with some mouthwash dripped on to keep mold from growing. I then put the beetle on top of a small plastic lid to keep it off the towels, closed the lid, and left it. After about 12 hours, I checked, realized that there was no humidity in the box, and moved it onto the top of my fish tank lid. The light in the lid provides a little bit of warmth, enough that the inside of the box is now warm (maybe 75-80F?) and very humid.
The beetle hasn't loosened, though. Do I just need to leave it in there for longer, or should I try something else? I mostly need to get the base joints of the legs loosened up so I can put it in a pose other than "cartoon dead bug".
Also, I snapped the lower segment off one of the legs while attempting to see if the legs would flex at all. Which was dumb. What's the best way to put it back on, after relaxing and posing? I read something about using a tiny bit of half-dried Elmer's glue, and that seems like it might work.
And are there any particular concerns when pinning large beetles, aside from just making sure that enough of the pin sticks out on either side?
