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Post by zombirr on Jun 14, 2021 18:14:37 GMT -8
Ok so uhhhh I collect Dead Moths and my brother had found this dead Polyphemus moth and gave it to me, we both had realized that it was twitching slightly so I assumed it was just on it's death bed. And so I had put it somewhere and forgot about it for four days. And I come back and well... uhh.. it's definitely still twitching. I feel awful cause I thought it was dead lmao. What should I do??
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Post by kevinkk on Jun 14, 2021 18:48:19 GMT -8
Well, it's not like in the movies. Insects can take a long time to expire after living most of the energetic part of their life.
If you want to dispatch the creature, pop it in the freezer for a day or so, or you can use fingernail polish remover and a paper towel,
don't use cotton- it sticks to their legs.
I've learned to make sure when spreading a formerly living specimen, make sure it's dead, one time I had an atlas moth throw off all
the glass slides while pinned to the board. I was near the drying box and wondering- where the *** did all these
glass slides come from? The freezer is a sure thing.
It's just one of those things people don't normally see, usually it'd already been eaten by a raccoon or a bird.
As a breeder and collector, you get a little oblivious to these things, I'll keep moths until they die naturally sometimes,
like when males are worn or a female hasn't paired and has become unusable as a specimen, I suppose it'd be more humane to
dispatch them sooner with some moth dignity, but I never do it.
And you are correct-it's on the way out.
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