If we want to make butterfly specimens, the first step is to catch butterflies. Here I will introduce you to five sharp tools for catching butterflies: butterfly net, triangle bag, triangle box, poison bottle and collection bag.
Butterfly net The butterfly net consists of a net handle, a net ring and a net bag. Four common styles are introduced in the picture. Fishing nets can be made by themselves. The length of the net handle is almost the same as its own height, and a bamboo pole or wooden stick with a diameter of about 2cm can be used. The mesh ring is 35cm in diameter, bent with thick iron wire, with both ends folded at right angles and fixed on the mesh handle. The net bag is made of white or light green nylon gauze, and the length of the net bag is twice the diameter of the net ring. The bottom of the net bag is basically flat, and both ends are arc-shaped, which is the main difference from the general insect catching net, so as to avoid the butterfly wings from being damaged by the narrow bottom after the butterfly enters the net. If long-distance travel or economic conditions permit, it is best to go to a fishing gear shop to buy a copy net and put on nylon gauze. In this way, the net can be folded and the rod can be extended and retracted, which is very convenient.
Triangular bag Triangular bag is essential for collecting butterfly specimens. Paper materials should be smooth, translucent and tough, and the size can be15xlxlcm or 7.5x 1l cm.
Triangular box Triangular box is a kind of triangular bag, which is used to temporarily store butterfly adults in the wild.
The style and material of the poison bottle is the most suitable rectangular soft plexiglass flat box, 14x 10x3cm. Spread a layer of cotton on the bottom of the box. Inject two or three milliliters of chloroform or ether instead of toxic cyanide, so that butterflies in miniature Fluttershy and triangular paper bag porcelain "feign death" due to suffocation can be poisoned, and fecal pollution can be avoided. This kind of poison bottle is not only light and fragile when put in your pocket, but also convenient to carry and use. This is an ideal collection container.
Collection bag Collection bag is used to place all kinds of collection utensils, and the back type is the most convenient.
After preparing the tools above, we can catch butterflies. Here are some ways to collect butterflies:
(1) The butterfly waves the butterfly net in the air. When the butterfly gets into the net, the bottom of the net will be thrown up and turned upside down with the butterfly.
(2) The butterfly approaches the butterfly on the flower first, and then is disturbed. After it flies, it swings the butterfly net violently and catches the butterfly in the net above the flower. This can prevent the flowers from floating into the net together.
(3) The butterfly is close to the butterfly on the ground. Cover the butterfly into the net by pressing, then pull up the bottom of the net with your right hand to let the butterfly fly upwards, and seal the net with your left hand so that the butterfly can't escape.
(4) The butterfly uses a butterfly net with a small opening on the trunk, approaches the butterfly from bottom to top along the trunk, swings the butterfly net upwards, and throws the bottom of the net upwards.
(5) When the butterfly is on the leaf, put the butterfly net close to the butterfly from the side and top of the leaf, and be careful not to touch the surrounding branches.
(6) When the butterfly is in the sun, the butterfly catching net is close to the butterfly from the opposite side, so as to avoid the projection of the butterfly catching net from scaring the butterfly away.
(7) If the butterfly still has thorns, wait until the butterfly flies. Otherwise, the thorns on the plants will hook the butterfly net and tear it.
(8) Methods of trapping butterflies
(1) Put rotten peaches, bananas and other fruits in an iron can and expose them to the sun to promote their fermentation. You can choose to put it on the mountain road.
(2) Brown sugar, vinegar and yellow wine are mixed together, heated and boiled into syrup. Placement can be selected on the thick trunk of Quercus acutissima.
(3) Add salt with proper amount of water to make light salt water. By the country stream, dig a pit with a depth of 10cm and a diameter of 50cm, and then pour in salt water.
(4) Positioning the female adults caught first on flowers, grass and water with specimen needles can attract male butterflies.
⑤ Cut the colored paper into patterns and put them in the grass.
Step 2: Make
To make butterfly specimens, you must first prepare the following utensils:
Insect needle Insect needle is an essential product for making acupuncture insect specimens. Because of the different sizes of insects, the thickness of insect needles used is also different. Insect needles are usually 38 mm long and numbered 00,0, 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7, etc. No.00 stainless steel products with a diameter of 0.3 mm, which are thickened in turn and excellent in elasticity have the best quality. Needle-inserted butterfly specimens are often purchased with three numbers: 5, 3, 1.
The third stage can be made of wooden boards, with a length of 12cm, a width of 4cm and a height of 2.4cm. The first stage is 0.8cm, the second stage is 1.6cm and the third stage is 2.4cm.. In the middle of each level, there is a small hole the thickness of a 5 # insect needle, which is used for inserting pins. The third stage is used to insert specimens, which can make all specimens and their labels highly uniform.
Wings Wings are made of cork. There is a cork trough on the board. One of the two plates beside the groove is movable to adjust the width of the groove according to the size of the worm. If there is no such wing plate, it can also be made of hard foam.
When making specimens for storage, the softener must be softened before it can spread its wings and straighten its posture, because the insect's body is extremely brittle and will break when touched. Softening agent is an essential tool for making dry specimens. In mass production, a suitable softener can be modified with a glass dryer, that is, put a layer of washed wet sand at the bottom of the softener, add a few drops of carbolic acid to prevent mildew, put a piece of absorbent paper on the sand, and then put the triangular paper bag vertically into the softener. At room temperature for a few days or so (shorter in summer), the butterfly's body can remain soft. At this time, it is necessary to spread its wings and adjust its posture. If it is left for too long, the specimen will turn black and affect the color. If there is no dryer, you can replace all kinds of containers with lids.
In addition, labels, laminated paper, pins, tweezers and so on are needed.
Now we're going to make the specimen officially.
Firstly, according to the size of the insect, choose the appropriate insect needle, insert it from the center of the butterfly's chest and back, leaving a length of 8 mm, and then align the quasi-wing plate vertically into the middle of the slot, so that the insect's back is parallel to the wing plate. Then use a small insect needle or tweezers to pull or pinch the thicker veins of the left and right front wings and pull them forward until the rear edge of the front wings is perpendicular to the body. Then, press the pre-folded transparent finger pressing strip so that the rear edge of the front finger coincides with the crease on the finger pressing strip. In order to make the wood look natural, the plastic butterfly wings at the base of the wings can be fiddled with insect needles, and the feet, tentacles and touch parts can also be slightly arranged. Finally, check whether the specimen is made correctly and whether there is any error. If there is no mistake, put the specimen in an oven at 40℃ and dry it in a ventilated and dry place for about two weeks, so that it can dry itself. After the specimen is made, the original records should be made carefully.
Step 3: Save.
The preservation of butterfly specimens is an essential step in making butterfly specimens. If you ignore this step, don't call me when you cry.
The main tool for storing butterfly adult specimens is the specimen box. There are many kinds of materials for making specimen boxes, such as wood, paper and glass. The forms of specimen boxes are split, pull and life history specimen boxes.
The environment for specimen preservation and drug specimens should be placed in a ventilated and dry place where direct sunlight cannot reach; The specimen box has good sealing performance; Don't open the specimen box in rainy days. In order to prevent insects from eating, camphor blocks can be selected in the specimen box. Check whether the specimen is moth-eaten every autumn, and need to replace the insect repellent.
Butterfly specimen card is mainly used to record the information of butterfly specimens, including middle name, scientific name, collector, collection time and so on.