Parnassius26 wrote: Sun May 18, 2025 3:32 pm the real question is how to safely remove glue from specimens...

I prefer BioQuip glue because it can be easily dissolved in acetone.

Anna,
Thank you for your advice.
I've already got the original BioQuip glue
from a fellow Insectnet member.
Best regards

kevinkk,
Thank you for your reply.
I sent you a PM.

The last vial of my favorite BioQuip insect glue (see the pic) is about to run out.
Does anyone know how it can be replaced? Is it supposed to be
cellulose (nitrocellulose?) dissolved in acetone?
I am not interested in Elmer's or any other type of glue.
Thank you in advance Screenshot 2025-05-04 ...

biscuit153,
It looks like this company ships only to Canada.
I tried to contact them, but there was no reply
(It could have gone to the spam, of course).

Dear kevinkk,
This line is offensive: " I don't read Russian for one thing, and I doubt many or any others do."

Hi all,
I was unable to find this type of holder.
That's why I invented my own one:
a 5 ml beaker, glued to a T-shaped pin bent to 90 degrees
with a Loctite Epoxy.

kevinkk and livingplanet3,
Thanks again for your replies.
Following your advice, I did not use any chemicals or hot water.
I partially rehydrated Megasoma to avoid
further damage, and then easily inserted the broken
tarsomer into its socket. To my surprise, it stays there,
I applied a drop of glue ...

Thank you all!

Thank you all for your advice.
Adam, I will not remove the old labels from the
specimen pins. The labels fixed to the bottom of
the drawer are in addition to the original ones.

My question regarding the labels is now hidden beneath the
more recent post regarding Temu Coupon. Dear moderators, I believe
the coupon post is spam and can be deleted. Please correct me
if I am wrong.

Dear All,
I always kept the labels with the collection info on the specimen pin beneath the bug. I am going to print labels for some insects to be affixed to the bottom of a cabinet next to the specimen. Can anyone tell me how to fix these "external" labels to the plastozote? I do not like to glue ...

Hi all,
I collected many palearctic leps with the ordinary "medical UV" lights
in the XX century. I am going to start it over here in Nearctic, and I realized
I have no clue about modern equipment.
The background:
-I will not collect in the field but in my backyard.
-I prefer to have a dim light ...

Thank you both!

Hi all,
I hope to repair a tarsus on the hind leg of
a huge Megasoma. The distal tarsomer with claws came
out of the joint (see the pic). It is essentially a ball joint,
or, according to the human anatomy, a "ball-and socket"
joint. Unfortunately, all my efforts to insert the "ball" into
matching ...

Regarding degreasing:
I use a procedure based in general on Le Moult's book
"Mes chasses aux papillons". It's a shame this book has still not been translated into English. His recipe: "Put the specimen in well-refined benzene, then the wings are covered with Sepiolite (Mg4Si6O15(OH)2·6H2O). I did ...

Thanks to everyone who answered my post!
I seldom deal with Morphinae. I purchased a few Morpho sulkowskyi
from Chuck Ianny about 15 years ago. He sent me a bag of abdomens.
I glued them w/o degreasing. With all due respect to Chuck, I would not
use these specimens in a genetic study.

Hi all,
Can anyone tell me why Morphinae specimens are sod without abdomens? Supposedly, the abdomens of this group extract some oil, greasing the wings. I remember my grandfather's collection, where all Morpinae (about 100+ years old) retain their abdomens. I can't check now if their abdomens were ...

wollastoni,
Thanks a lot!
I guess C. eurilochus livius

Hi all,
Here is a scan of a label from an old Caligo specimen, supposedly C. eurylochus. I tried to process it in Photoshop to make it readable, but I had no success. I can only read "Apr 2009, C..... N. Peru." Can anyone guess what the label said?