Positioning Forewings
by Clark Thompson
Spreading Butterflies: Step 6. Position forewings. Un-pin the bottom of the paper strip and hold the strip with your fingers to control the tension. Starting on the right or left side, move one of the top wings up part way, but not too far as to slip under the hindwing, which must remain underneath.To position wings I use a No. 5 or No. 7 insect pin touching against one of the stronger veins in the wings, trying not to make a hole. On large specimens I will use the head of the pin instead of the point. I sometimes move both top wings part way into position first before setting the bottom wings, so as to prevent swiveling of the butterfly body on the pin. Stretch and re-pin the paper strip to hold the wing in position. Note that the final position of the forewings will be achieved when the trailing edge of the wing is at a 90 degree angle with the vertical axis of the spreading board and butterfly body, as illustrated in Step 10. It is often helpful to have a number of predrawn lines (perpendicular to the groove) on the spreading board to assist with forewing positioning. |