HELP! Struggling to present pinned lepidotera in a glass frame
I’m having some trouble presenting a collection of pinned moths and butterflies for a college art portfolio. The specimens are each attached and dried onto a 1.5inch pin through the thorax, and are currently kept in a draw with the pins stuck into a sheet of polystyrene.
I want a large number of them to be wall mounted in glass frames, but am struggling in two key areas:
Firstly, the size of the pins means that they do not fit inside most standard frames, and even with a deeper set frame I purchased, they still bump the front, which has caused several to be damaged and one moth to be completely destroyed - a very disheartening experience.
Secondly, I’m struggling to attach them to the base of the frame because of the pins. First I tried glueing a thin layer of polystyrene to the frame-board then sticking the pins into that, yet they fall out very easily. I also had to use wire cutters to clip the ends of the pins, as they were too long to fit in frame, yet this only destroyed even more precious specimens.
I believe the best solution would be to remove the insects from their pins, then glue the thorax onto the board, yet I cannot remove them in the current dry state, as they explode into dust…
Perhaps if I rehydrate them first, they will easily slide off the pins? I’m worried this will cause their wings to furl up and reverse all the effort I spent pinning and drying them.
Thanks!!!
some pictures of what I’ve managed to frame and the collection are attached.
TL;DR - How tf do you put pinned moths in a frame???