All it takes is a set of router accessories and some 1/4-in. When the butterfly has relaxed enough for you to gently move its legs and antennae, it’s ready to be spread. Good luck, and we are planning on posting an instructional video as soon as we can get it filmed, so stay tuned for that! V-shape. Manufactured by Ladybug Strategies, LLC this spreading board is ideal for the single student and economical enough to purchase for the whole classroom. Another important difference is their antennae – butterflies have slender antennae that form a club shape at the end. New Adjustable V Shape Insects Butterfly Spreading Mounting Board Solid Wood Wings 4.0 out of 5 stars 50. If you decide to identify your captures when you get home, make a note of where you found each one and what plant or flower it was feeding on. Step 3: How to spread butterfly and moth wings. Forceps - Spade-tip Butterfly 6. Run a piece of tape along the top of the butterfly blank. Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. The Butterfly Company is a major supplier of exotic unmounted butterflies, dried insects, and papered specimens from around the world. (A note of caution:  many species of butterflies have plentiful populations, but make sure you don’t collect too many of the same species or kill rare ones without considering first.) With a good identification guide, you should be able to find the scientific and common name of each one. Spreading Butterflies - University of Kentucky, Dept of Entomology The wings of moths and butterflies look better and are easier to identify if their wings are spread. x 16 in. Other kinds of insects may be dragonflies, caddisflies, praying mantids, large planthoppers, grasshoppers, or even some wasps and bees. $8.99 + $4.00 shipping . Then, pin the thorax of the butterflies into the foam board in your shadow box. Make sure the insect does not tip from side to side or … For best results, though, use ethyl acetate in a killing jar made for the purpose. Moths tend to have feathery antennae and very few species have clubbed antennae. Smith provided the dried insects and spreading boards. We are delighted to share some of the best AW content here on the PW website. You don’t have to clamp them. Draw centerlines on the template. The showy zebra butterfly, a Florida and Texas … It’s a good thing to have a little bit of contrast in color or grain pattern between the butterflies and the surrounding panels. The more you practice the more skillful you will be. She said she may decide to major in entomology. For butterflies and other large winged insects, you should use a spreading board and insect pins. Butterfly Spreading for Dum- Beginners! This medium spread board will hold most average insects and butterflies open while you allow them to dry before mounting. If the guide isn’t centered, the inlay may not fit well in the recess.Click any image to view a larger version. The easiest way to make inlay is with a plunge router, but it’s possible to use a fixed-base router instead. Insect Butterfly Mounting Spreading Board, Polyethylene Foam, 11.5 x 4 x 1 Inch 5.0 out of 5 stars 6. The technique is very easy to learn. New Adjustable V Shape Insects Butterfly Spreading Mounting Board Solid Wood Wings 4.0 out of 5 stars 50. However, this does not impact our recommendations. The total thickness of the template and shim should not exceed 5/16 in. (Be careful not to pin through the wing itself.) To profit from a stock price move up or down beyond the highest or lowest strike prices of the position. Clamp a thick board over the inlay and let the glue dry. You can use it, however, if you add a shim, as shown in Step 4, below. Cut a hole in the shim that’s about 1/8-in. wide. All calls have the same expiration date, and the strike prices are equidistant. This story originally appeared in American Woodworker March 2003, issue #99. Cut the corners of the recess with a chisel or knife. Make a relaxing chamber by setting a damp rag inside an airtight plastic container. When you cut the meat and spread it open, it resembles the wingspan of a butterfly. Manufactured by Ladybug Strategies, LLC this spreading board is ideal for the single student and economical enough to purchase for the whole classroom. Many kinds. Flip one half of each rectangle over and glue it to the other half. Students Butterfly Spreading Board. Each participant took home a pinned butterfly on a spreading board for later removal and display. 1. larger than the hole in the template. To start your own collection of these beautiful Lepidoptera (the insect order that butterflies and moths belong to), you’ll need some basic collecting equipment. Put the collar on the template guide. When the butterfly has dried, remove the paper strips, but don’t try to remove the pin through the thorax! Shipping will vary depending on how many are ordered. Place the butterfly’s body in the groove on the board – it varies in width for different-sized insects. The drying process may take up to two weeks. Push the pin about 1 ⁄ 2 in (1.3 cm) into the board so it stays in place. Next. My Science Perks is FREE! Rip a 1/8-in.-thick strip from the blank, remove the tape, and you’ve got six identical loose inlay pieces. 3. Use kitchen shears to cut along both sides of the backbone, from the bottom to the top. Pinch the thorax to spread the wings enough so you can pin it. The collecting of butterflies to be preserved as specimens has always been a very touch subject, even among lepidopterists! Gently press the wings down so they lie spread out flat, then put a thin strip of paper over each wing and pin the ends of the strip to the board. Select ANGLED or FLAT pinning surface: The ANGLED pinning surface is most popular elevating the wings just a … Choose a groove size that comfortably fits the width of the butterfly. Write or print out a small tag (card stock or other thin cardboard works well) with the name, and attach it to the pin that you use to hold down your insect. Butterflies, on the other hand, usually have smoother bodies, brighter colors, are active during the day, and fold their wings up over their backs when they land. Set the router on the template and butt the guide against one of its inside edges. The bill of materials for a spreading board is: 1. Spreading butterfly wings. $10.95 + $3.50 shipping . – Simple Woodworking Projects. Forceps - Spade-tip Pinning 7. The bill of materials for a spreading board is: 1. When the butterfly has relaxed enough for you to gently move its legs and antennae, it’s ready to be spread. Making a Spreading Board To spread the wings of moths and butterflies until they dry, a spreading board is needed. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality. Make sure all the top surfaces are even.4. If you can, collect two specimens of each species and mount one to show the colorful top of the wings and the other to show the more camouflaged underside of the wings. This is a great experiment to do with young children to show how germs are spread. Stand the butterfly blank on edge and glue it to a backer board about 6-in. Several sizes of spreading boards are used by the professional. As a Board Certified Entomologist, Erin has extensive knowledge of insect identification, ecology, plant relationships, husbandry, really any insect-related topic! Woodcraft, woodcraft.com, 800-225-1153, Router inlay set, #09I16; Replacement 1″ bit, #09I17; Router adapter baseplate, #144931 (fits routers by Sears, Ryobi, Makita, Bosch, Porter- Cable, Milwaukee, Hitachi, DeWalt, Fein, Elu and Freud); Butterfly inlay template, #146903. (You can make your own spreading board with strips of cardboard.) Set the butterfly inside, cover it with 2-3 damp (not dripping) paper towels and close the lid. Grab the butterfly by its body using your fingers or a pair of forceps and place it in the center of your spreading board. Don’t leave the butterfly in the killing jar too long. Carefully position the left fore-wing with an entomology pin by gently pulling on the main wing veins with the tip of an entomology pin. I recommend you cut these butterflies with a cutting machine like a Cricut. When spreading the luna moths, you will definitely use the same technique as with spreading a butterfly. If it is already dried, use the relaxing instructions. 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