These spiders and scorpions are often used by schools and groups who come to visit the Discovery Centre, all that attention and moving of the drawer means the legs can drop off, and then someone has to glue them back on again. This time its my job.
This is my set up. I’m working in the education room on the same table as the conservation volunteers, they are cleaning a glass chandelier.
arachnid conservation
On the right you can see the pH neutral glue that is used for mending insects, next to that a packet of insect pins. In the middle is my plastazote stage containing cocktail sticks for applying the glue, underneath is a diagram of the contents of the drawers, so I don’t put things in the wrong place and at the front are some entomology forceps. On the left is a microscope for fiddly bits.
matching legs to bodies
In this picture you can see the sorted legs, plus behind, some ootheca (egg sacs).
One has been opened and the spiderlings preservered. These ootheca are made of spider silk.
spider and ootheca (eggsac)
The spider and ootheca are real, the banana is painted.
sticking a scorpion back together
This drawer contains arachnids that have arrived in the UK by accident. Most arachnids are preserved in spirit, but these dry specimens are intended for outreach and education rather than for researchers.
Portfolio Naturalia 