Beetle Legs

[58chevy]

In most of the museum & university beetle collections I have seen, the legs are tucked underneath the body. This seems to be the quickest & most efficient way to prepare the specimen for transfer to the drawer or unit tray, especially for large numbers of specimens. However, I prefer to mount the legs outside the body, in a more natural "crawling" position but relatively close to the body. If the legs are outstretched they show more of the structure but can easily get entangled with adjacent specimens, resulting in broken tarsi. Which position do you prefer?

[Trehopr1]

For aesthetic reasons I PREFER a natural walking stance or pose
as you do 58chevy (as seen in my most recent Prionid photo) of
a Ecuadoran (genus mallodon) specimen. Legs are nicely arranged
yet, close to the body.

I feel, that spreading the legs out much further makes the stance
more "un-natural" and of coarse far more prone to possible breakeage.

More "scientifically minded" enthusiasts or coloepterists are unconcerned
about the "aesthetics of presentation"; so they almost always tuck-in or
tuck-up legs to save drawer space and to prevent possible damage.

Nothing,necessarily wrong either way. Brace pins help a lot to secure
specimens of more elaborate presentations. Space or more-so the cost
of buying drawers seems to weigh heavily on some indiviuals minds.

I say, enjoy what you have in whatever manner gives you the most enjoyment.
After all, we are only here a "finite" amount of time....

[Trehopr1]

I would also point out (for example) an instance where
I was able to view and purchase some Carabidae holdings
from a (partia)l collection purchased by a dealer I know.

Everything about the collection was scientifically minded
in arrangement and presentation. But, none-the-less the
material was beautiful to gaze upon AND fully provisioned
with data. I WAS SOLD !

I ended up with about 40 specimens and have never elected
to change the way things were originally done. It would be
labor intensive for (#1) and secondly I still find them totally
acceptable as they are.

[Chuck]

I admire beetles set with legs outstretched, but not too far, somewhat natural looking.

HOWEVER, if I'm setting small beetles, they get a pin through them and done. Same for larger specimens if they are more than #3 in a series- pin through legs, if anything, tucked under to be neat and take less space. If a future owner doesn't like it, they're welcomed to reset them!

[kevinkk]

I do prefer the legs of beetles in a outstretched, or a walking position. Exceptions are the rule however, and the
smaller they get, the more difficult and or determined it becomes. I've got 2 Goliathus species in shadow boxes mocking me right now, but that was then, and this is now, and I make more of an effort at everything with the collection. I've been slightly shamed into keeping better data from
somewhere...

[bandrow]

Greetings,

Without exaggeration, I have prepared millions of specimens of beetles over my 45+ years of collecting (and professional role), and have come to realize that several different styles are useful, depending on the ultimate use of the specimen. For most of my collection, I have settled on a compromise between tucking legs in to save space and protect parts from damage and keeping an aesthetic look about the specimen. I don't generally prepare specimens with the legs in a "natural" or "walking" position, to save space, but I have done so on occasions where I'm adding specimens to some sort of diorama and need a truly life-like mount.

At my job I am often preparing specimens to serve as vouchers for survey projects. In these cases it's important to prepare lots of specimens in short time, so a more "functional" style is preferred - with legs and antennae tucked but not necessarily with an aesthetic touch.

For my personal material I try to strike a balance between tucked and open... here's a typical drawer from my collection to show my average prep style.

Rosenbergia-outside2-A.jpg (466.22 KiB) Viewed 3863 times

[boghaunter1]

I agree with all those about legs spread out, but not too far. As hobbyist/aesthetic/part time/unpaid collectors, MOST OF US (a few exceptions) do not process tens of thousands of specimens each year, so we can take the time to arrange legs in life like positions. I do, however, still very much like bandrow's (a professional entomologist) middle of the road position on mounting beetles... still visually appealing with the very consistent appearance of all specimens... very neat looking IMHO. Plus saves space & takes less (PAID) time, as is absolutely necessary/essential, in larger collections (institutional or private).Great compromise job bandrow!

John K.

[Trehopr1]

Agreed, and very well put John K !

[bandrow]

Hi All,

Here are a couple of images of teaching drawers I use when training new work-study or volunteer preparators. These show the good versus bad prep style, with the good being the quality of prep we strive for here at the Carnegie. Top trays are the good and bottom the bad, for Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera/Phasmida/Mantodea.

Notice the difference in number of specimens in the examples - more specimens in the 'good' trays versus the 'bad'. Space is money, so a denser collection is always optimal in the museum setting.

Good-bad-Coleos-Hymes-2.jpg (588.09 KiB) Viewed 3791 times

Good-bad-Orthops-2.jpg (559.69 KiB) Viewed 3791 times

Cheers!
Bandrow

[alandmor]

Think about changing your cerambycid specimen avatar. It's a bit on the bad prep side!

[bandrow]

Hi alandmor,

Yep - you busted me!!

But here's the story on that one. That is Centrodera quadrimaculata Knull, one of the rarest cerambycids in the U.S. It is known from just a handful of specimens from only a couple of counties in SE Ohio. At one point it was presumed extinct, but then several were collected in between 1990 and 2010. That specimen was collected and imaged by my good friend, and fellow InsectNetter, Ken Karns. Thankfully, he had the forethought to image it right after collecting it to capture the color in case it faded after drying - which, unfortunately, it did to some degree. It now resides in my collection - probably my most prized specimen - as I grew up in Ohio and imagined catching one since seeing it in Knull's "Long-horned Beetles of Ohio" at about age 15. And it is very nicely prepared, I'll add!!

Cheers!
Bandrow

[alandmor]

Cool story and nice that it ended up in your collection. You are exonerated!

[alandmor]

I basically do the same as bandrow, except with fruit chafers (Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), I don't have to deal with the long legs and antennae!
After relaxing in petri dishes using 50:50 ammonia and water, if needed, I pin them on a pinning board with the prolegs facing more or less forward and the other legs tucked beneath like these recent specimens from the Philippines below. It does save a lot of space and I don't bother with the antennae. There is something oddly satisfying about a well-curated drawer of specimens. Works for me.

[Trehopr1]

Well done indeed alandmor !
I too have some of my specimen drawers done in similar fashion; as they represent my treehopper holdings which are my (specialist) interest.

However, I also have additional unit tray drawers present which house some of the insect "variety" which I have encountered over my years as either personal captures or in collections (being parted out). So far I have 25 of these "insect variety" drawers present and I still have enough remaining specimens to fill at least 10 more drawers. So, lots of work and pleasure ahead !

Of course, these variety drawers of mine utilize a wide swath of unit tray sizes to accommodate a true MIX of Insecta. And although, I could easily shuffle the trays around and say put (like) things in each drawer; I like mixing things up so that each drawer is like a box of chocolates --- you never know what you will find inside !

I'll make an effort to show a few of them soon.

[bandrow]

Greetings,

Nice cetoniines, Alandmor! Looks like you and I have the same process - right down to the size of the foam prep board. Since you're into cetoniines - here is a batch of them that I prepared last week for the museum. I found this assortment of papered specimens buried in a freezer, and couldn't put them back into obscurity, so prepped them up. I'm assuming they were donated by the "Ph. Antoine" that is on the det labels.

Not sure if these are all common species or not, but the little Goliathopsis in the lower right is one cool little species!

cetoniines.jpg (568.45 KiB) Viewed 3634 times

Cheers!
Bandrow

[alandmor]

Nice assortment of cetoniine genera and species from SE Asia.  You probably know Philippe Antoine (1940 - 2017) was one of the more prolific experts on Cetoniinae with 89 publications, primarily on the taxonomy of the African fauna.  We were fortunate to publish a paper with him in 2012 on the cetoniines of Ghana. Thanks for posting. We need more beetle presence on InsectNet!  

[Trehopr1]

I agree with you alandmor on the need for more beetle presence here on the forum !

I have tried to "kickstart" discussions on beetles here before but, they never seem to gain much traction.

My holdings are limited compared to you guys so, don't know what else to say....

[bandrow]

Hi Folks,

I knew of Philippe Antoine, as he had done determination work for us in the past. But I did not know he had passed away. It makes me happy to have found and resurrected this material and gotten it prepared for the collection as he had intended.

I like seeing more beetles as well, so I'll have to make time to post more images and help start, or at least add to, conversations. I think a thread on truly weird Cerambycidae is needed, so I'll get to work on that (although I'm somewhat camera-limited)...

Cheers!
Bandrow

[alandmor]

Hi Folks,

I knew of Philippe Antoine, as he had done determination work for us in the past. But I did not know he had passed away. It makes me happy to have found and resurrected this material and gotten it prepared for the collection as he had intended.

I like seeing more beetles as well, so I'll have to make time to post more images and help start, or at least add to, conversations. I think a thread on truly weird Cerambycidae is needed, so I'll get to work on that (although I'm somewhat camera-limited)...

Cheers!
Bandrow

It's always nice to find hidden gems in the freezer! Just curious, if these were papered specimens that you just prepared, the determination labels by Ph. Antoine must have come with them? Thx

[bandrow]

Sorry,

I didn't see your question until now. Yes - the determination labels were attached to the paper cards.

Cheers!
Bandrow