Unspread, Unframed Dried Butterflies
Cethosia biblis
Status: Ready To Ship! (Everything on this page)
Danaus chrysippus alcippus
| Danaus chrysippus alcippus (Africa) - Wingspan (when spread): 2 - 2 1/2 inches - $1.96 (49 cents per wing), Product #720D | Add To Cart |
Citrus Swallowtail
| Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio demodocus - Africa) - Wingspan (when spread): 3 1/2 inches - $1.96 (49 cents per wing), Product #720C | Add To Cart |
Papilio bromius
| Papilio bromius - Africa - Wingspan (when spread): 3 3/4 inches - $2.49 (62 cents per wing), Iridescent! Product #720P | Add To Cart |
Hypolimnas bolina
| Hypolimnas bolina - Phillipines - Wingspan (when spread): 2 3/4 inches - $1.96 (49 cents per wing). This butterfly has iridescent purple eye spots that pop in and out depending on the angle viewed. Great for jewelry. Product #720H | Add To Cart |
Precis almana
| Precis almana - Phillipines - Wingspan (when spread): 1 3/4 inches - $1.84 (46 cents per wing). Nice eyespots, great for jewelry. Product #720PH | Add To Cart |
Sunset Moth
| Urania riphaeus (Sunset Moth) - Madagascar - Wingspan (when spread): 2 3/4 - 3 1/2 - $3.85 (96 cents per wing). Incredible color. The underside of the wings (not pictured) is spectactular as well. Product #720SM | Add To Cart |
Belenois calpyso
(Underside)
| Belenois calpyso - Africa - Wingspan (when spread): 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 - $1.96 (49 cents per wing). White and black upperside, beautiful underside with polka dots. Product #720BC | Add To Cart |
Dried, unspread, unframed, papered butterflies for sale. To hydrate the butterflies, wet 4 paper towels (Bounty works better than generic brands), squeeze the water out, then place the butterflies in a single layer above and below 2 paper towels and place in a tightly sealed tupperware. Small butterflies take a day or less to soften up, large butterflies like the birdwings above can take up to 4 days to soften. Once soft they can be spread open.
Spreading butterflies can be quite difficult to master and there are various different techniques available. A decent amount of equipment (pins, spreading board, microscope slides, glassine strips) is needed as well. We do not offer any spreading instructions, there are butterfly spreading guides available on the internet though.
A very rough way to spread them would be to stick a pin through them from the underside of the abdomen, open the wings (push from as close to the body as you can get, along the thick upper vein), and then "squish" the wings against a piece of styrofoam, foamcore etc by pushing the pin into the foam and following with the butterfly. Something might be needed to hold the butterfly in place while it dries (24-72 hours). It won't be symmetrical, or flat, but it can get you a bit of a V-shape wing.
These specimens are also useful if you want to use their wings only (for artwork, fairy dolls, jewelry), to study them for science, show and tell etc. They do not come framed, they simply arrive in a paper triangle. We cannot 100% guarantee that all of the antenna and legs will arrive in perfect condition but they usually should be intact. Although we only purchase "A1" quality labeled butterflies, minor flaws will exist on the some specimens and there's always going to be variations in size, color, vibrancy etc. If you need a excellent quality specimen it's often advisable to buy a few of each. Because the wings are closed we can't inspect the quality of the upperwings.
Most of the butterflies on gallery pages 1-4 are available for purchase unspread as well. However, we often have limited quantities and the prices for those specimens will be more than the specimens on this page. Most would run between $5.00 - $13.00 each. Please contact us if you're interested in butterflies on pages 1-4.
 Single Framed Real Butterflies Pages 1 2 3 4 |
 Multiple Framed Real Butterflies Pages 5 6 7 8 |
 Bargain Framed Real Butterflies Page 9 |
 Butterfly Wing Art Page 10 |
 Butterfly Jewelry Page 11 12 |
 Misc. Butterfly Items Page 13 |
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