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Post by nomad on Dec 22, 2015 7:44:04 GMT
Has everyone gone away for Christmas, No one sent set insects? Yes, set specimens are fine to send by post, as long as you follow some simple rules. I have just and will have some rare set Delias winging their way from afar. You need either a strong cardboard or even better a plastic tupperware box. Glue some plastazote into the first smaller box, but before you place any set bugs in it, make sure the glue is really dry and the plastazote secure. In a plastic box, if , that glue is not really dry, it could relax your specimens ( It happened to me). Once the glue is dry, pin the specimens in, then use several pins and cross pin the abdomens. Then bubble wrap your smaller box. Next place your smaller box in a larger box that has plenty of room for packing. For packing use newspaper, cotton wool or more bubble wrap. The main thing is that your small box does not move at all in its larger box. A good idea is to write what is in the box, such as dried insect specimens non cites species, handle with care but that's up to you, we don't want customs breaking our prizes. Follow these rules and your specimens should be in perfect order when they arrive.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 22, 2015 9:17:32 GMT
For larger butterflies such as swallowtails it is advisable to add more pins, rather than just cross pin the abdomen. There is a danger that a sudden jolt can cause the abdomen to break off and then bounce around in the box, damaging the specimen. Here are the pin positions I recommended to David Cassat when he sent me the holotype of Papilio krishna mayumiae by post: You can see the pin positions (red dots) around the body and also on the costa of the forewing near the apex of the cell. These will stop the specimen from moving inside the box. I actually sent David 6 extra long thick pins, as the pins need to be strong and significantly longer than the height of the specimen. Adam.
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Post by nomad on Dec 22, 2015 10:41:46 GMT
A holotype specimen, Adam. Very nice. Is it Adam's Thailand Museum now.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 22, 2015 14:30:09 GMT
A holotype specimen, Adam. Very nice. Is it Adam's Thailand Museum now. When someone is going to the BMNH it along with some of the paratypes of taxa I have named will be hand carried there. I have no intention of keeping this specimen here any longer than necessary. Adam.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 22, 2015 14:33:19 GMT
This specimen was supposed to be deposited in a Japanese museum, but the author sold it to an Australian instead (tut tut). David Cassat rescued it and decided to send it to me as he was worried about its safety where he was.
Adam.
PS. There are no other holotype specimens in my collection, in case you were wondering.
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Post by nomad on Dec 22, 2015 15:51:40 GMT
Hi Adam. just a wee joke I think you mentioned on InsectNet that you were going to give some types including this specimen, to the BMNH.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 22, 2015 21:21:13 GMT
No problem, I didn't take it seriously.
Actually the reason I posted the photo was because after David sent it to me I added red dots to show him where to put pins, and I thought it would be useful for the current topic.
Note that the 2 pins on the forewing costa are placed just below the apex of the forewing cell, as this is the strongest area of the forewing edge. I didn't mention that all the pins should be pushed as far into the foam/plastazote as possible so they are really firmly in place.
Adam.
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Post by mygos on Dec 23, 2015 14:03:42 GMT
"Fragile" stickers are certainly not always respected. Jan I would say that they are never respected except sometime the final guy that delivers the good in hands. Anywhere treatment of the parcels is mainly done by machines that only read barcodes and not the labels ... A+, Michel
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Post by nomihoudai on Dec 23, 2015 14:57:57 GMT
I put pins like on Adam's pic, but I put them closer to the wing base. If the needle is far away from the wing base they have a lot of torque and can break things in my opinion. The most important thing after that is double boxing them. I put the set butterflies in a small box and this box into a much larger box that I pad with crumbled newspaper. Furthermore, I will put a ring of rough cotton wool around the butterflies, if a body comes loose the cotton should catch it and keep it stuck.
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Post by mygos on Dec 23, 2015 15:21:29 GMT
I put pins like on Adam's pic, but I put them closer to the wing base. If the needle is far away from the wing base they have a lot of torque and can break things in my opinion. The most important thing after that is double boxing them. I put the set butterflies in a small box and this box into a much larger box that I pad with crumbled newspaper. Furthermore, I will put a ring of rough cotton wool around the butterflies, if a body comes loose the cotton should catch it and keep it stuck. Claude, it is certainly easier to send Lycaenidae, rather than females O. alexandrae A+, Michel
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Post by nomihoudai on Dec 23, 2015 16:33:19 GMT
Yes that is true, most of what I send were Lycaenidae, but I also send some mid size Nymphalidae and Morphos "back in the days".
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 23, 2015 20:07:34 GMT
I've done it many times. Morphos, Ornithoptera, and even Dynastes. Make sure the pinning bottom is good. Believe it or not I used styrafoam, which one would not consider to have a strong hold, but it worked. Then as already suggested, cross pins over abdomen, thorax, whatever you can. I probably used too many pins, but better that than a Dynastes loose like a bull in a china shop.
For extra measure, I packaged the box within a box, surrounded by foam peanuts. I never lost a single specimen!
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 23, 2015 21:49:16 GMT
Double boxing with padding in between is vital to help prevent damage from the inevitable jarring as the box gets thrown around in transit.
Adam.
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mooks
New Aurelian
Posts: 31
Country: U.K.
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Post by mooks on Mar 30, 2016 14:54:53 GMT
Hi guys is that styrafoam the same as lofting insulation board m8 ? If yes l make my setting boards out of it brilliant stuff l just cover it with photo paper then replace it when it's full of holes. Works for my saturnidae Question for you how do you stop specimens moving in display cases ? Or is it pot luck it don't get handled badly !! Guessing it's cork that's used to pin the specimen
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Post by nomad on Mar 30, 2016 17:44:12 GMT
styrofoam can be used (used or was for house insulation but usually used in packing) but plasterzote strips are much better because they grip the pin tightly. People either tape it or glue the strips to the bottom of the box. Cross pin the specimen abdomens. Some place a pin between the antennae and the forewing but care is needed when removing them. As Adam mentioned, always double box and pack the inner box with the specimens tightly so it does not move.
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