Pins | ||
One astounding aspect concerning the formation of a permanent record of a coleopterists activity, i.e. the
collection of voucher material, is the number of different pins available to accommodate the specimens. Another
astounding aspect is that all these different types of pin are actually used, perhaps not absolutely practically or
sensibly but all the various types of pin are in use. It should be obvious, and more especially so considering that
most, if not all, coleopterists (and indeed entomologists in general but we need to confine this discussion to
coleopterists) are scientifically minded, that some form of practically ideal pin, or series of pins, could be
designed that would serve all purposes as well as is possible and that the design be acceptable to everyone. But
coleopterists have personal preferences, and beyond this there is a huge amount of pinned material in collections
going back decades or centuries and so the choice of which pin to use will be based upon personal preferences which
are influenced by which pins are considered good, practical, traditional or which simply look good. Pins, like most
things, gain reputations. There are a few things that entomological pins must do and there are a few things that we
would like them to do but they cannot. What they must do is support a specimen, usually along with data labels, be
capable of easily penetrating the specimen without causing any more damage than is absolutely necessary as well as
penetrating and staying put in the lining of a store box or cabinet drawer or at least a strip of secondary mount,
be non-corrosive and be capable of being handled with relative ease even if only by the use of forceps. What we
would like some types of pin to do is something that they cannot do i.e. be rigid rather than springy.![]() The stainless steel headless pins sold by Watkins and Doncaster must surely rank among the most comprehensive range of sizes available anywhere. They are shiny silver with an indistinct spiral effect along the shank, they are very sharp indeed and will remain so with use, and they are headless; the blunt end looks rather crudely cut (although you will need a microscope to see this) and is sharp so the use of forceps is essential. The thinnest size, AA2, is absolutely tiny at 0.1mm (in fact the thinnest we have seen in any catalogue) and, at 12.5mm long, very springy; I tried these for dissection work and they were simply too springy. The A series at 0.14mm are better but still too springy for dissection work. The B series (0.19mm) and especially the C series (0.22mm) are in our experience ideal for messing around with dissections at powers up to X60 and no doubt beyond. We do not recommend mounting beetles on these but there are those that do and we can only admire their skill. The series goes up to the relatively massive G at a diameter of 0.45 and a maximum length of 38mm which is the same length as the continental pins but it should be said that there are larger pins on the market. This series is very versatile if a little temperamental; with a little experience they will be found to be ideal, with the introduction of foam lined boxes the larger sizes can be handled without forceps. In our experience they do not corrode, dull or blunt. Before considering corrosion we should point out that the above discussion is not an advert for these pins, we use them because one of our members used them for microlepidoptera, had a few to pass around, and so we all began to use them, a few more sizes were purchased and we have no complaints; there are many others on the market and, so far as we know, all suppliers offer micros. ![]() It is probably safe to say that all modern entomological pins, used as intended, will not corrode and that this attribute is due to their composition and the quality of their manufacture rather than, in the strictest terms, the environment in which they are used. When great care is taken older pins may be considered more or less permanent structures but it should be realised that the opportunities for corrosion are not always obvious and are probably always present. Sharpness is something that becomes obvious only when switching from one type of pin to another. Sharpness is here used to describe two aspects of pin design, firstly the acuteness of the point and secondly the nature of the shaft which should be, but has not always been, parallel. Compared with most modern pins the old English number fives and twelves seem positively blunt, all the more so to older coleopterists who have experienced the change from English pins in cork to a modern substitute in foam. English pins could also be very inconsistent, in some cases they had a barely perceptible thickening behind the point so that after passing through a card the resulting hole was very slightly loose on the shaft of the pin with the result that it could be moved laterally with no effort at all, the thought of cards spinning and specimens shearing off against other cards is not a pleasant one. A handy tip picked up through years of handling these pins by fingers and working with cork-lined boxes is to use a small piece of elastic band, 15-20mm long, doubled over between the fingers to pick out or insert the pins, when pressure is eased the band remains between the fingers and the pin is released. At some time or other the coleopterist will have the rather dubious pleasure of accidentally inserting a pin into a finger or thumb and the old English pins, being not too sharp, took some forcing and so, when they finally did penetrate, they tended to rocket straight down to the bone. By comparison modern sharp pins are almost a delight. Experience soon rids a coleopterist of this habit. ![]() The majority of pins offered nowadays are of continental length i.e. 38mm and in a range of diameters, the thinnest we have seen are 0.25mm which seems a bit precarious at 38mm but all the continental pins we have examined from a wide range of suppliers (go to the AES exhibition) have been either acceptably sharp or very sharp and so, used with foam, these should be strong enough. In fact all of the continental pins we have seen seem to be of very high quality. An exception to the 38mm length is the javelin-like continental number seven, at 50mm long and 0.7mm thick (from Watkins and Doncaster). We have seen this used only once, to accommodate a huge puss moth and even here the top 10mm or so was bent at a right angle to allow it to fit into a cabinet drawer. Continental pins are available in a range of designs, some of which are very attractive, they are all of stainless steel although black designs are available in enamelled stainless steel. Some have moulded round or flat head. Large or small, heads and some have round nylon heads. They are made by a fair number of companies and so it is a good idea to obtain samples before deciding upon a type to use. Both Henshaw and Lydie Rigout (who supply Hillside pins as well as Japanese models, etc.) stock excellent quality pins. Czech pins are also supplied by Lydie Rigout and at another AES stall we found, but did not have a chance to examine, Polish pins. We have read elsewhere that specimens mounted high up on continental pins may be safer from some of the pests that destroy specimens and experience elsewhere may have shown this to be true. It seems unlikely though that anything capable of climbing a pin in order to reach a specimen will be reluctant to go the extra five or ten millimetres in order to obtain a meal. (Vertigo?) ![]() As well as entomological pins most suppliers offer attractive points or lills for laying out labels in boxes or drawers, and plastic headed, very visible, pins for other work e.g. setting or holding specimens down for dissection. Most suppliers are happy to send a sample of their pins and it is well worth looking at a few different types before any decision is made. ![]() Given the quality of modern entomological pins the final choice will be one of personal preference based on aesthetics and also perhaps cost. The feeling I get nowadays, and for some time past, is that there might be a shift towards continental style pins but this is based mostly on what is offered in the catalogues and might not apply so generally to coleopterists; longer pins are more convenient when double mounting i.e. using the longer pin to support a foam or polyporous mount which in turn supports a micro-pinned specimen. At the time of writing the price of pins varies between just over a penny and about five pence each, they are generally sold by the hundred but some suppliers also sell them by the thousand and so offer savings. Our earlier comment about VAT should considered as some catalogue prices include it and some do not, postage rates vary considerably and so must also be considered. |