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Post by Adam Cotton on Sept 14, 2017 15:42:36 GMT
If you want them to look nice for a long time then keep them in the dark. Otherwise they will fade and some colours will change.
Adam.
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Post by Paul K on Sept 14, 2017 23:04:21 GMT
The best place to hang display case on the wall ( if you really want to ) is the room without windows.
Artificial light will fade them much slower than sunlight and you would not use light at all time anyway.
If you don't have room with no windows you should find the place where is no direct sunlight hitting the wall.
If this is the case your specimens will fade away in very short time and I mean less then a year.
Again display only less valuable , double specimens as they WILL change colour no meter what.
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Post by Paul K on Sept 15, 2017 14:57:53 GMT
UV protective film/tint, but it would be hard to install it on a dome and I am not sure how effective they are.
Trial should be made but that would take years to see results.
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mothman55
New Aurelian
Posts: 33 
Country: Canada
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Post by mothman55 on Jan 15, 2018 16:27:20 GMT
Has anyone experienced fading due to exposure to light within Ornithoptera? I have had a couple of display cases on the wall for at least 25 years and they are as bright and beautiful as those that I have kept in cabinets away from any light. They were not in direct sunlight, but still on a reasonably well lit wall. The only thing I have noticed is that the green in priamus tends to turn a bluish green shade over time. I guess similar to the strong UV lights that dealers are using to turn green to blue and call them form "Divina". I do not see any other colour change, even in the greens of goliath or paradisea or victoria or tithonis. They are unchanged and unfaded.
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Post by trehopr1 on Jan 15, 2018 19:17:29 GMT
The "structural" colors of your wall display cases may seem un-changed to your your eye but, they in truth are probably not as vibrant as they once were. They will lack the "pop" of specimens protected from light. More importantly, it is the colors created by chemical composition which are the most affected by light damage. Chemical based colors will still de-grade a bit with time as we see this occur somewhat in historic specimens whose colors may still appear to be good but, are less so in reality when compared with a fresh new example. In essence, the vibrancy of the fresh colors is somewhat lost to varying degrees among historic items.
Natural (indirect) light over time accelerates the breakdown of the various chemicals giving you the blacks, browns, greens, reds, oranges, and yellows; such that they will be either bleached out or severely dulled / altered. Direct sunlight will effectively kill off these chemicals and bleach them out completely in as little as 2-4 years.
Don't display anything out in the open that is rare, costly to replace, or otherwise hard to get. It is simply un-professional in terms if you are any kind of dedicated hobbyist....
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Post by jmg on Jan 16, 2018 10:16:22 GMT
Only male Morpho bear the light. Their color is physical and does not result from chemical pigmentation. Even without exposure to the sun, in the dim light of an urban apartment, the green color of butterflies such as Siproeta stelenes or Philaethria dido quickly faded  . My male Ornithoptera, exposed in the evening to electric light for years, retain their brilliant appearance.  |
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bixia22
New Aurelian
Posts: 39
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by bixia22 on Jan 29, 2018 20:08:08 GMT
What about female morphos? or say male hecubas (brown) or male telemachus (blue or brown)?
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bixia22
New Aurelian
Posts: 39
Country: U.S.A.
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Post by bixia22 on Jan 29, 2018 21:46:02 GMT
What about live butterflies, they are in the sun all day, do they start fading? I would think after 3 years for a Monarch, it would be quite faded?
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Post by Paul K on Jan 30, 2018 1:46:04 GMT
What about live butterflies, they are in the sun all day, do they start fading? I would think after 3 years for a Monarch, it would be quite faded? Yes, live butterflies are fading too. For example older specimens of Papilio polytes are getting light brown with yellowish spots when newly emerged they are black brown with almost white/creamy spots. I don’t think D.plexippus lives for 3 years  |
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Post by jmg on Jan 30, 2018 9:50:02 GMT
"What about female morphos? or say male hecuba (brown) or male telemachus (blue or brown)?"
No problem with these butterflies. It is true that they are not exposed to a bright light: they are visible but remain most often in the dim light.
On the question of the fading of the colors of live butterflies, I will mention, among other very numerous examples, that of the red Heliconius erato (andremona, uldarica) or H. melpomene or the male Parides with green (P. sesostris, P. lysander, etc.) whose non-freshly emerged individuals become dull.
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. My male Ornithoptera, exposed in the evening to electric light for years, retain their brilliant appearance. 
