Questions about keeping or collecting insects?
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Nikki writes: "Dear Dr. Ashley, I am the mother of four children age 7 and under. We are insect enthusiasts and have a feild guide we use to look up many bugs...we capture lots and wanted to make a display of them when they die but they get all dried out and fall apart ...is there some way to treat their bodies so we can display them? Thank you."

Rick's Answer: "Nikki, Insect collecting can become a life-long hobby leading to many occupations. The pinned insect will last more than 200 years and can be very valuable to science if it is mounted right and if it has the proper data with it. I'm sending you 4 pictures. They show the kind of inexpensive equipment that you need and they show how a butterfly and a grasshopper have been pinned out. Most insects either have the wings spread or the legs pinned out (never both). A good field guide that talks about all of this would be "Insects" the Peterson Field Guide. Hope this helps...it might be more information that you wanted...but keep those young entomologists coming!!"