Pinning Bees Tutorial

This is an informal introduction to pinning bees, and insects in general. Nash Turley explains what supplies are needed, the basics of pinning, setting the proper heights using a pinning block, and a little bit about manipulating specimens so they look nice. There's also a quick overview of pointing insects at the end.

[@Lorraine-ei1nd]

👍♥️this help out a lot...I found a beautiful dead bumblebee today..and need to know how to preserve it for taxidermy ty

[@Mitch.Wasserman]

Awesome tutorial! I'm just starting out collecting insects and this video is exactly what I needed. Thank you for posting.

[@ajannahhz]

What kind of wood is the pinning block made of?

[@NashTurley]

hmm, not sure, just kinda generic wood. i actually prefer to use a piece of foam that's about 20 mm thick

[@phuzface]

i retrieved my drowned cicada killer specimen from a pool and didnt put her in any alcohol. its been a couple days and i think shes losing her color. should i rehydrate her and put her in isopropyl to keep her from rotting any further, or is it too late?

[@NashTurley]

some bugs loose their color when pinned unfortantly, and I think that is true of cicadas (from my memory of seeing them in drawers). A bug could be pretty dry after a few days and would be too brittle to pin. If you want to pin the cicada then either rehydrate by putting in a container with moist paper towel, or put in 50-70% alcohol for a day or more. Being in alcohol will rehydrate enough to pin and may also have the advantage of getting rid of fungus that may be on there.

[@phuzface]

@@NashTurley omg thank you for the great advice! i should clarify that my specimen is a wasp called a cicada killer but i think your advice is gonna be a big help!

[@someguy5271]

​@@phuzfaceI was lucky enough to get a cicada killer which was in the act of killing a cicada. They're attached to each other thanks to the cicada killer and floating in 70% isopropyl now.

[@phuzface]

@@someguy5271 what an amazing specimen display that must be!!🤩

[@dougkyle685]

What about pinning then storing in 10% formalin, until you can cast them in resin?

[@NashTurley]

I'm not familiar with this approach, I don't think research specimens are stored this way, but I could be wrong

[@dougkyle685]

@@NashTurley I'm using it to preserve them until I can afford the supplies to mount them in resin for educational aids

[@NashTurley]

@@dougkyle685 can just use rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) which you can find most anywhere that has first aid supplies (drug store, walmart, etc)

[@Mr.Losing]

What should I do if I don't want to pin my bumblebee now and only a week later?

[@B1gassbass]

Just leave in a container in the meantime it’ll be fine

[@user-gm4oj1lp3p]

I'm a little shy to pin a bee

[@10Arami01]

How long should I put them in the alcohol?

[@NashTurley]

Having bees in alcohol is not a necessary step, for example sometimes bees are killed by freezing or with a kill jar, but storing in alcohol is often convient or makes most sense if they are already wet (like from a trap). They can stay in alcohol perhaps indefinitely, but in some cases alcohol can make them brittle (especially if 90% or more) and more likely to break when pinning, but rehydrating them before pinning can get around that issue.

[@10Arami01]

@@NashTurley okay doke thank you, I'm trying to get into pinning but it's kinda hard to find resources haha

[@getoffyoubassandletsfish8565]

I usually leave em in the jar till I wake up from passing out

[@getoffyoubassandletsfish8565]

I’m not sure either this or hand sanitizer in a little jar 🤔
Any ideas 💡

[@tftied]

You could do this first then if you change ur mind just dunk em in sanitiser later lol