How to Preserve Insects

Preserve larger insects pinned on boards for display.

Collecting insects can be a fascinating and rewarding pastime, but to share your specimens with others you must properly preserve and display your collection. Larvae, soft-bodied insects, and smaller specimens are best preserved in a liquid, while larger specimens are best displayed mounted on a board. Proper preservation of your collection will allow you to enjoy and share your passion for studying and gathering insects for many years.

Things You'll Need

• Glass vials with lids
• Warm soapy water
• Soft cloth
• 70% isopropyl alcohol
• Masking tape
• Permanent marker
• Wide-mouth quart glass jar with lid
• Cotton balls
• Fingernail polish remover
• Cardboard
• 1- to 2-inch thick Styrofoam rectangle
• Forceps
• Insect pins
• Paper strips
• Shadow box

Instructions

Liquid Preservation

1. Wash glass vials and their lids in warm soapy water and dry with a soft cloth. Fill each vial 2/3 full with 70% isopropyl alcohol.

2. Place one live soft-bodied insect or larvae into the alcohol in each vial. Handle the insects carefully when placing them in the jar to avoid damaging or crushing them. Add additional alcohol to each vial to bring the level of the liquid to the bottom ring. Screw a lid tightly onto each vial to seal.

3. Write the name of each insect on a piece of masking tape with a permanent marker. Stick the label to the lid or bottom of the jar.

Pin Board Preservation

1. Set a wide-mouth quart sized glass jar on a flat surface. Fill the bottom of the jar with cotton balls. Pour fingernail polish remover into the bottom of the jar over the cotton balls. Let the jar sit until the cotton balls soak up the liquid. There should be no extra liquid in the bottom of the jar.

2. Cut a circle from a piece of cardboard small enough to fit inside the jar. Place the cardboard circle in the jar on top of the damp cotton balls. Place the lid on the jar and screw on tightly to seal. Wrap the bottom portion of the jar in masking tape to block the sunlight from reaching the cotton balls and causing the liquid to evaporate and become less potent.

3. Unscrew the jar's lid and place a large insect such as a beetle, fly, butterfly or moth in the jar. Screw the lid back on and let the jar sit until the insect dies. Place one specimen at a time in the jar.

4. Set a 1- to 2-inch thick Styrofoam rectangle on a flat surface. Unscrew the lid of the jar and use forceps to remove the dead insect from the jar. Position the insect on the desired spot on the surface of the foam. Spread the wings, legs and antennas of the insect into a natural position. Insert insect pins through the tips of the wings and center of the thorax to secure the insect to the foam.

5. Write each insect's name on a strip of paper with a permanent marker. Pin the paper label to the board below the specimen. Place your completed mounted collection inside a shadow box. Display the shadow box on a shelf or mantel, or hang it on a wall.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove the insects from the jar and mount them immediately after they have died to avoid discoloration and stiffness.

References

• University of Minnesota Extension: Collecting and Preserving Insects
• Purdue University: How To Preserve Insects
• Collecting and Preserving Insects: A Beginner's Guide