Pinning and labelling beetle specimens

A very large scarab beetle from Ancient Egypt in the British Museum (CC image by Rachel H)

There's a lot of information on the internet (like this sage advice from Katy Potts), but it's a lot to take in and it may make more sense once you've had some practical experience? There's a few things to bear in mind though:

Relaxing (the beetles, not you):  if it's been more than a day or so since you collected them, the specimens will get brittle and there'll be more chance of legs and antennae dropping off. So you should put them in a sealed plastic box with some moistened paper (some people say vinegar) overnight (some people say longer) before you pin them.

Pins: You need special entomological pins (I've written a page about suppliers here). They come in different widths. The bigger then number, the bigger the diameter, and you match the size to the size of your specimen. Although you can get very thin pins, I've discovered that they're hopeless for when you need to add labels, they bend. So I'd recommend you only use sizes 0 to 3 or more (even 0 is a bit small). You can buy your own pins or I do have some you can have to start with. If the beetles are too small, there are ways round this (read on).

Different insects are traditionally pinned in different places. Beetles are traditionally pinned through the right hand side of the body, through the wing cover. I sit them on a piece of expanded plastic foam so I don't pin myself in the process.

If you've got a small insect where a pin would obliterate it, you have the option of pointing, carding or staging them. Mr Telfer is big on carding but I'm not instinctively keen - it means you can't see the features on the underside of the beetle unless you de-glue it from the card. An alternative is pointing (which I've had moderate success with). You can buy or make small pointy bits of card which you skewer with a pin, and then bend the tip to glue it to the side of your specimen - preferably without plastering the entire creature in glue. Finally there's staging, which uses a tiny double-pointed pin which holds the insect to a strip of foam, which is in turn pinned as usual. To elucidate, here's an excellent picture I have willfully borrowed from the Queensland Museum webpages. I hope they would approve in the spirit of entomological education.

Examples of carded, pointed and staged specimens.

So your beetle goes on the pin first (pinned through the right hand elytra), and then you'll need to scrutinise it under the microscope to identify it.  Also at this point, you'll probably want to get its legs Just So, but without making them fall off. This takes patience and practice.

But when you leave to make a cup of tea, you mustn't forget where you found the beetle originally. I pin it through a little piece of paper that makes a temporary reminder.

When you've managed to identify it, you need to write out your labels. You could do this on a computer of course, but I quite like to write them by hand. You can consult the what, where, when and who pages for general advice. I use thin card (from an artist's drawing pad) and a super fine 0.05 pen with indelible ink (you can buy these in the SU shop). The labels are about 2x1 cm.

  You need to write two labels (or at least, this is the way I was taught to do it by an entomologist, so this is the way I am suggesting to you). One has the location and collector information on it, and the other has the identification and identifer. I was taught to put the location as the upper label and the identification as the lower label. I have to admit that this makes it difficult to see the identification and does seem somewhat daft.  So if you chose to do it the other way (or indeed a different way entirely) that would be entirely up to you.

So then you would use the pinning block (below) to add your labels to the pin. Ideally so everything was at 90 degrees, not like the slightly amateurish version pictured.

 You'll see that the pins go in the right hand side of the labels,
 and the beetle faces forward.

This all sounds quite dry but in practise it's quite absorbing, I find. It's certainly something that will suit people who like fiddly work, but don't let that put you off - I've definitely improved since I started, and the pinning is a minor part of the process. (I enjoy the collecting and identifying more)




Pinning block: This is really just a piece of metal with holes drilled into it, but it's very useful for making sure that all your specimens and their labels are at a consistent height. We've bought several so you can borrow one if you like.

The way I've been taught is to use the first (left hand) hole to position the beetle itself, and the 3rd and 4th holes for the location and identity labels respectively.

Then you can find a box to put your specimens in. I've been using transparent plastic boxes with close fitting lids. I line the bottom with a layer of foam. You can then add your beetles in some kind of taxonomic order (those in the same family together). You can also add some naphthalene in a little twist of material, firmly attached in a corner. That stops fungi and (live) insects who might like to eat your specimens. I can give you a bit of that - just come and ask.

You can buy expensive boxes from entomological supply companies if you're feeling flush, or improvise with something else - it's up to you.

Please do come in and have a chat about all this if you like, it seems a bit complicated at first, but it's not so bad when you actually have a go.