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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge # 24 : Hobbies >> Challenge 24 Eligible > My Butterfly Collection
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09-FEB-2003 Mike Savad

My Butterfly Collection

My Den - New Jersey

I'm new at this. I read that your supposed to stake a butterfly in it's center. But I hate when they squirm and scream when I stab the pin through it's little body. I then found this solution. It works pretty well, they flail around for a while, but after a while they calm down. It's hard to photograph them when that flap around like that. And sometimes they get away. Maybe I should try glue?

Canon PowerShot Pro90 IS
1/60s f/2.8 at 8.3mm (35mm equivalent: 102mm) with Flash hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time09-Feb-2003 11:04:20
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot Pro90 IS
Flash UsedYes
Focal Length8.3 mm
Exposure Time1/60 sec
Aperturef/2.8
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias-0.67
White Balance
Metering Modecenter weighted (2)
JPEG Quality (5)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance3.134 m

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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ctfchallenge12-Feb-2003 13:35
you know it's really funny. just last night my father was saying the exact same thing. he collected butterflies as a kid. the "killing jar" it was called. scoop up the bug, and place some Carbon Tetrachloride in the jar, close it up and it dies. he stopped because he thought the same thing, better alive.

which are also my thoughts - i can now enjoy them in my own kitchen! stabbing the critter through the belly is mean. they scream they writhe, they wiggle. but worse, they start flapping, and can get free. now you have a dangerous situation, a flying pin. though partly humorous as they stick when they land on something soft. there legs wriggle around trying to touch the ground. so i found this method. thumb tacks work pretty well, they display nicely, and once they stop complaining, it's rather calming to look at.


---Mike Savad
duncan hoyle 12-Feb-2003 12:07
It's a while since I saw him do it, but what my dad used to do was kill the butterflies by transfering them from his net straight to a jar containing ether (I think - whatever it was it stank!), put the lid on and then leave them for a while. Then, once dead he opened the wings by pinning them under 2 strips of paper - one for each side of the body (he had special flat boards with a groove down the middle for the body). Pins went into the paper around the wings not into them. Once flattened he then pinned them through the body and removed the paper.
He's since decided that he prefers to see them alive and flying :-)

Hope this helps

Duncan