My hatchling has emerged !

Did the female mate with a male? If not the eggs will be infertile and will not hatch. Good luck with rearing the larvae if they are fertile, have fun!

Adam.

I prefer to use wax paper or I will cut strips from an opaque glassine envelope.

I cut the strips to varying lengths and widths using a sharp pair of scissors; depending on the size of the moth or butterfly at hand.

I find the wings glide effortlessly underneath that medium with little or no scale loss.

I do not use paper or card stock as strips because of the fiber embedded in it. Too much of a chance of a loss of scales or rubbing of the fibers against the wing.

My strips usually cover from the base of the wing across and approximately halfway. From that point to the edge of the wing I tend to cover the remainder with a glass slide.

My glass slides have all had their edges polished off with a wire brush grinder so as to round off the edges smooth; for the safety of my fingers as well as to avoid cuts or slices in any wings from straight cut glass.

I shall try tonight to post a picture or two. It is a method which I have used since I was in my teens.

Freshly collected material should remain on your spreading board 4 to 5 weeks. Rehydrated material (in my opinion) should still remain on the board 3 to 4 weeks.

I buy A4 sized quality tracing paper. I cut it into strips of the size that I need. 1 pack lasts me a year, never use anything else.

Your suggestions of such high quality photo paper certainly have some merit and would perhaps be worth at least trying out.

On the other hand, Yorky certainly puts forth another wonderful option to the paper I suggested as tracing paper also works very well indeed !

I worked on a specimen this afternoon before work and I will try to post a couple of quick picks tonight when I get home.

Earlier this afternoon I worked up this Morpho
straight out of my relaxer. In just 24 hours she
was like a fresh capture -- very pliable...

By the way, Morpho's and Helicons happen to
be amongst the easiest of butterflies to spread !

Here, in the below photo I have already "gingerly"
maneuvered the wings into a pleasing position. My
glass slides only hold down the outer (1/4) of each wing.



This next photo illustrates the placement of my "holding strips".
I prefer either waxed paper (as strips) or strips cut from an opaque
glassine envelope. Tracing paper is also an excellent medium.

All three choices are thin (flexible), translucent,  and non-fiber
based so friction against the scales is non existent; with CARE
in mind...

The strips serve at least 3 purposes.

A. They hold the wings fast and distribute a nice even pressure
     (top to bottom) over that which they cover.

B. They "flatten" the trailing edges of the forewings to avoid
     curling along the perpendicular line (where both sets of 
     wings meet).

C. They flatten out (as well) the anal angle of the hindwings
     on either side of the abdomen; where there are often
     androconial scent pockets (males), eyespots, small tails, or
     scalloped areas of the hindwing design.



My third photo below, illustrates the final task of this endeavor.
Here, I have carefully lifted the glass strips from the edges of
the wings and placed each over a wing.

I position each glass strip so that it is able to cover all the outer
edges of the wings (to avoid buckling and/or curling).

*If glass strips are not your thing; then the remainder of the wing
  beyond the "holding strips" will still need to be completely covered
  to avoid those aforementioned (bad) issues.



My prize now gets placed on the shelf of a dark cabinet
where it dries out (cures) for 4-5 weeks.

Of coarse, this brief tutorial only reflects my own approach
or "style" involved in butterfly preparation. Sometimes, this
approach does not work for everybody... so I have learned to
"tweek" parts of it to accommodate problem specimens !

Others without doubt have their own methodology which they
have developed and/or changed-up to suit their needs. As long
as it works for you and you are pleased with the results; then
that is all that matters.

Below, is another photo of a fresh caught Colias philodice which
now nicely rests on a spreading board with 5 others.

 

I believe both would work equally well.

However, you could also try purchasing just a
"small" amount of each and see if you prefer
one over the other. Then purchase more of the
one you like best.