Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Prepare the butterfly for drying. If you collected your butterfly, and it has already died, prepare is as quickly after death as possible so the butterfly is still mobile and soft. Carefully lift the butterfly up by the abdomen with flat-tipped tweezers. Place the butterfly into the crevasse of the spreading board, letting the abdomen fit in between the ledges.
Place a pin straight through the thorax of the butterfly, or the hard, middle body part. Using the tweezers, carefully stretch out the delicate wings to their full length. Place pinning strips around the outside of the outstretched wings. Place the spreading board in a dry location for at least three days.
Once the butterfly is dried into position, remove the pins. Leave the pin located in the thorax. Once all of the pins are removed, carefully lift the thorax pin to remove the butterfly.
Remove the glass top from a Riker Mount. Carefully push the pin containing the butterfly into the soft foam inside the Riker Mount. Write the Latin or common name for the butterfly on a small piece of paper. Pin the paper beneath the butterfly in the Riker Mount. Place the glass cover back on the Riker Mount.