card-mounting beetles
- Thread starter Satanas
- Start date
Markelangelo
L3
The only card mounted specimines that I have seen were incredibly old lady bugs that were glued to a piece of card stock. Are you planning on glueing it as well? You should post a picture!
Bill Myers
Tenebrio
Acid free backing boards. You can get them at your local comic book store, or order them online from ebay HERE.
Cheers
Satanas
Pupa
yes i plan on gluing it, using a glue that removes with waterThe only card mounted specimines that I have seen were incredibly old lady bugs that were glued to a piece of card stock. Are you planning on glueing it as well? You should post a picture!
Matt
Pupa
How big is the specimen. Very large beetles are not really suitable for "carding" and some groups really require the underside to be visible for them to be of any realy use.
Advice so far is good - acid free card and water soluable glue. If you really want a "perfect" looking specimen, you might consider the "double carding" technique that was popular at one point. Get your beetle set on a bit of card, all the legs and antennae glued in exactly the right place. This can be a bit messy, but don't worry - once the beetle is set and dry then carefully float the card in water to dissolve the messy glue, then glue the specimen on to a fresh clean bit of card. Never done it myself this way, I'm just happy to get them in approximately the correct positions on a card.
Advice so far is good - acid free card and water soluable glue. If you really want a "perfect" looking specimen, you might consider the "double carding" technique that was popular at one point. Get your beetle set on a bit of card, all the legs and antennae glued in exactly the right place. This can be a bit messy, but don't worry - once the beetle is set and dry then carefully float the card in water to dissolve the messy glue, then glue the specimen on to a fresh clean bit of card. Never done it myself this way, I'm just happy to get them in approximately the correct positions on a card.
Bill Myers
Tenebrio
I've never heard of the floating technique before. Very cool! I have a couple of card mounted specimens that I picked up from an antique store that I've been wanting to remount onto acid free backing board. I think I'll give that floating technique a fair crack of the old whip!
Concerning the messy glue part, I have a trick I'd like share with everyone. When gluing insects down, you can minimize all that glue mess by making what I call a "glue dot tool." For my dried bug collection, I use it to help effect repairs on broken antennae, legs, wings, and whatnots.
To make a glue dot tool, simply take a "glass head" sewing pin and add a handle to it by sticking it into the end of a small, wooden dowel about 3 inches long. (A cut-down chopstick will work in a pinch, too). Then, simply dip the head of the glass head sewing pin into the glue and use it to transfer the dot of glue to the contact points of your specimen. With that little tool, you'll save lots of fuss and muss when gluing insects!
Cheers
PS - Elmer's sells a clear, water-soluble glue which I have used over the past couple of years with excellent results. Amazon.com carries it HERE.
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