Pinning insects is one of the basic skills you will need to learn when putting together your insect collection. All hard bodied insects must be pinned correctly in an effort to avoid damaging certain characteristics necessary for identification. Not all insects are pinned the same way. Below are some example illustrations to help you pin your specimens.
Bees and flies are pinned through the center or their thorax.
True bugs are pinned at the right side of their scutellum, which is the triangular region below the prothorax that separates their wings.
Grasshoppers are pinned at the right side of the dorsal ridge on their prothorax.
All beetles are pinned on the right side of the elytra, which is the hard wind that covers the abdomen.
Pinning examples: (A), lateral view of a pinned grasshopper; the black spots in the other figures indicate the proper location of where to pin the specimens such as (B) bees and wasps, (C) true bugs, (D) grasshoppers and (E) beetles. Note that you should try to leave at least 10 mm from the top of the pin to the specimen when possible.
