Tybalt will soon die and I want to pin him

[ohaple]

Hi, I am just catching up on this thread. It looks like you did a nice job so far.

One word of advice, do not use the alcohol method I see on some sites. It is what I went with, and the alcohol almost immediately caused some blackening. I did my h. majuscula much the same way. Most of the red has faded even without sun exposure. He is now mounted and in a frame. I stcuk pins through the wings like most people reccomend against, and I made my own pins by cutting the tips off of sewing pins so that the pins don't distract from the specimen. He is only pierced once through the thorax and one in each upper wing. The other pins he is just sitting on. A few I made little "U" pins to keep the raptorials in place.

It was definitely a hard thing to do right away. I was panicked that he would dry too much, so I did it immediately upon finding him dead. Since he was our pet, it wasn't something my wife wanted any part of. Best of luck on finishing up, sorry for your loss.

 

[Mantis Lady]

I had to bury Tybalt. His abdomen was discoloring. I should have cleaned out his abdomen. I will try again with another mantis when he/she goes. But your pic shows what I wanted for Tybalt.

 

[ohaple]

I had to bury Tybalt. His abdomen was discoloring. I should have cleaned out his abdomen. I will try again with another mantis when he/she goes. But your pic shows what I wanted for Tybalt.

I'm sorry to hear that. Mine also has discoloring pretty visible at the bottom of the abdomen. Good luck next time!

 

[Mantis Lady]

Mine looked worse than yours and it was in the middle of the abdomen. And it was speading. Next time better. I got at least some pinning experience

 

[Thrillhouse]

When my mantis die, or dying, I put them in a little box and put it in the freezer.

You can take them out any time and let it sit for a few minutes, and they'll be hydrated enough to pin and mount properly. 

I've never worried about the abdomen. But I think it probably is a good idea to clean out the really large ones.

 

[Mantis Lady]

I will do it with the hierdodulas. They will rot and discolor if the intestines stay in there in there. Don't know if it is needed whith Ghosts really. They are way smaller.