At the beginning of the summer I knew this years goal was to:
1. teach the kids hands on pinning and
2. catch a dragonfly.
Insects have their seasonal cycles, so dragonfly's wouldn't be found until August through September.
Insect Pinning Disaster - Fixing a Dragonfly Tail and Leg
Our first goal was achieved and fast. Baby girl started pinning quickly. We organized and outing with our cousins to go bug collecting and pin some specimens (that I gathered previously) to pin when we get back home. That was a fun day helping get others addicted to our hobby.Back to dragonflies. We had a wonderful friend send us a "Lion Ant" dragonfly she found near her home in McHenry County. We talked about packaging him securely in a plastic bag, adding him to a box a firm envelope so he doesn't break further. Yes we get everyone involved in our collecting! ! ! And all are welcome!
You can see that the specimen had its limb and tail broken off. However, no worries, we can easily fix these kind of problems.
First pin the dragonfly. Luckily I didn't have to rehydrate (soften) the specimen.
Then using as little clear nail polish as possible, I attached the limb. I tend to blow on the glue spot (where the Nail polish is added) to quicken the drying process.
