When your specimens have spent a little too long in the freezer or have become brittle, they are prone to breaking through the process of pinning or pointing them for your collection. Placing dry specimens in a relaxing chamber for 1-3 days can rehydrate them enough so they are soft and pliable again.

You’ll need the following items:

• A tight sealing plastic container
• Paper towels
• A plastic lid or petri dish
• 70% rubbing alcohol
• Water

Making the relaxing chamber is simple. First, place a few sheets of paper towel into the container. Next, thoroughly soak the paper towel with equal parts rubbing alcohol and water, and place the plastic dish on top of the paper towels. You can then set the insects you need to rehydrate on the dish and seal the container. Depending on how dry the specimen is, the waiting process can take up to a few days–just be aware that if left forgotten, mold may begin to grow and can damage it.

Check out the process in our video!