Aftercare For Your Pieces

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for the neglect of your pieces once they are in your home. It is the buyers responsibility to read how to care for the pieces that they purchase.

Preserved Insects: These specimens need to be kept out of direct sunlight and away from any heating vents. Sunlight can bleach the specimen and cause humidity to build up inside the enclosure, leading to depositioning, mold, and mites. Mites may become an issue at any time, as mite eggs are typically laid inside the specimen when they are alive and can be triggered to hatch with heat. I always do my best to seal frames to prevent mites from entering or leaving. However, I do not seal my domes, as I've seen issues with clouding glass over time.

Wet Specimens: These must also be kept out of direct sunlight and away from any heating vents. This causes the alcohol inside to evaporate quickly. Sometimes, just due to the warmth inside our homes, the alcohol will evaporate and you will have to "burp" your globe (aka letting the excess air out of the seal) and refill with 70% isopropyl alcohol. You may also have to top off jars overtime with 70% alcohol. Since these are stored in alcohol, the chance of mold or bacteria is extremely unlikely. Overtime, the alcohol in the jars can turn yellow. This is extremely common and simply just happens as the alcohol ages. Exposure to sunlight drastically speeds up this process. Just pour out the old alcohol and replace with new 70% isopropyl alcohol.

Diaphonized Specimens: These specimens need to be kept out of direct sunlight and away from heating vents. They are stored in 100% vegetable glyerin and a crystal of Thymol, an anti-fungal and anti-microbial chemical derived from the herb Thyme. If for any reason the vessel breaks, just rinse of the specimen and put into a container of vegetable glycerin. The specimen should have enough Thymol absorbed to keep it stable. Glycerin itself should be shelf stable for life if kept in good conditions.

Recap: Please, just keep your pieces out of direct sunlight and away from your heat vents!

If you encounter an issue, please reach out to me and I will help the best that I can!