Giant Stick Insect (Eurycnema nigrospinosa) Display
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:08 am
This is a very recently completed display featuring a Pair of Eurycnema nigrospinosa. This species has been misidentified in the trade for many years as E. goliath. If you have "E. goliath" in your collection, and the data says Papua New Guinea, then it is actually E. nigrospinosa, as E. goliath is endemic to Australia. This is a huge species - the female in this display has a body length of 268mm and a wingspan of 246mm.
A little info. on how it was made:
To create the leaf/branch design, the specimens were pinned onto a piece of foamboard, and the leaf design was drawn freehand around them in pencil. This outline was then scanned into the computer and used to make a program for a waterjet machine, which was then used to cut the design from a sheet of .090 thick aluminum. The piece was then hand painted to resemble an aged copper/metal finish (does not show accurately in the photo). This is the first time I have used a waterjet machine to cut out a design for a display. This one was just too complex to cut out by hand!
The overall size of this display is 17 1/2" x 29 1/4".
The backing behind the specimens is textured acid free paper.
The display is framed using Optium Museum Acrylic, and everything is sealed airtight to keep out pests.
A little info. on how it was made:
To create the leaf/branch design, the specimens were pinned onto a piece of foamboard, and the leaf design was drawn freehand around them in pencil. This outline was then scanned into the computer and used to make a program for a waterjet machine, which was then used to cut the design from a sheet of .090 thick aluminum. The piece was then hand painted to resemble an aged copper/metal finish (does not show accurately in the photo). This is the first time I have used a waterjet machine to cut out a design for a display. This one was just too complex to cut out by hand!
The overall size of this display is 17 1/2" x 29 1/4".
The backing behind the specimens is textured acid free paper.
The display is framed using Optium Museum Acrylic, and everything is sealed airtight to keep out pests.