Phone: (519) 746-4761

Canadian Address:

169 Lexington Court, Unit I

Waterloo, ON, N2J 4R9

 

US Address:

Niagara Falls, NY 14305

Canadian/International ship from Waterloo; US orders from Buffalo, NY.

For a detailed quote including applicable taxes, proceed to checkout

Insect Pins

Super sharp insect pins sizes 000-7; Made by Czechs with Swedish steel. 

Quality guaranteed for bug collections, crafts, textiles, puppetry, pinhole photography. 

Insect Pins

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Displaying 1 to 22 (of 22 products) Result Pages:  1 
 

Black enamel or stainless steel? They are identical in sharpness, diameter & length but there are important differences.

The black enamel ones are made from spring steel & are coated with a rust resistant lacquer after they have been cut. For soft bodied insects this should be fine, especially for student use or if you are using them to ream out holes & then dispose. They are not recommended for hard bodied insects since the coating can scratch off & the pin will rust eventually.

The stainless steel ones can be used for all insects & applications whether they are permanent collections of insects or textiles or any other material that you don't want to be disfigured by rust.

Pin # Dimensions Pin Head Wire Gauge(s)
000 38x0.25mm (1.5x0.01") 0.9mm 46, 47
00 38x0.30mm (1.5x0.012") 1.1-1.3mm 45, 46
0 38x0.35mm (1.5x0.014") 1.1-1.3mm 43, 44
1 38x0.40mm (1.5x0.016") 1.1-1.3mm 42
2 38x0.45mm (1.5x0.018") 1.1-1.3mm 41
3 38x0.50mm (1.5x0.02") 1.1-1.3mm 40
4 38x0.55mm (1.5x0.022") 1.1-1.3mm 39, 40
5 38x0.60mm (1.5x0.024") 1.1-1.3mm 38-39
6 38x0.65mm (1.5x0.026") 1.5mm 37-38
7 50x0.70mm (2x0.028") 1.6mm 37

Note: 25mm=~1". So 38mm=~1.5"; 50mm= ~2"; 1/64"=0.015".

Here is a very complete Guide to Arthropods. It describes life cycles, techniques and more.

 

Insect pins are handy for making pinhole cameras but results are very dependent on the diameter of the pin.

Pinhole Image of Flower Courtesy Dan. P. Seattle, WA.

Here are some useful resources:

An excerpt from the USDA Guide for Insect Pinning (no longer on-line) had these suggestions:

In section 3.1 - Preparing Dry Specimens for Mounting, the guide discusses some basic insect preparation:

"Any dry insect that is to be pinned must be relaxed.... a relaxing chamber usually will make this procedure much easier."

To this end, we offer a simple solution involving petri dishes & filter paper. All you need is to put some sort of support under the filter paper.

Insect Filter Paper Petri Dish