Did you know a lot of large weevils have such tough shells that people who want to pin them for collections have to use a tiny drill to get through the elytra? You physically cannot push a pin through the elytra with your bare hands, nor with any thimble-related efforts. I tried to pin one, and I kid you not, I bent pins on that thing. I finally just held it in place with two pins across its body because I didn’t have a tiny enough drill bit.

zoologicallyobsessed:

Yep! Hence why I do not have any weevils in my taxidermy insect collection yet.  have a hard enough time pinning beetles and getting them soft enough to pin through the elytra let alone with weevils and I’d be worried I’d ruin it if I tried to drill through it.

It works pretty well to just place them firmly against the foam underneath and pin them with two pins crossing over the junction between thorax and abdomen. They aren’t all nicely pinned through, but it holds them in place. 

You could probably also relax one, spread the elytra and wings, and pin it unusually low on the body, through the abdomen, avoiding the elytra entirely. Beetle wing spreading takes some practice, but it can make nice displays. Start with cockroaches as easy-to-get practice bugs. Lift the elytra up and out, spread the wing underneath (you’ll need tweezers) until it’s fully spread and in a mostly natural position, trap it that way, and wait. 

Semi-related question: is it really taxidermy, since it’s just a dead thing without anything else? I feel like it’s not taxidermy just like a mummified mouse or a clean animal skull isn’t taxidermy. Taxidermy is stuffing an animal hide to make it look lifelike. I always see dried insects referred to as taxidermy, but I feel like that’s not the right word for it. I’m just not sure what other word to use, aside from “pinned”.