How to Pin a Butterfly: The Complete Beginner's Guide (Step-by-Step)

Learning how to pin a butterfly is one of the most rewarding skills in entomology. Whether you want to create a stunning display frame for your home, preserve a rare specimen, or explore the art of butterfly mounting, this step-by-step guide covers everything you need to know — including how to pin moths too.

At EntomoBoxes, we've helped thousands of beginners transform dried butterfly specimens into beautiful wall-worthy displays. This guide draws on our own pinning manuals, developed through years of hands-on experience with everything from colorful Papilio swallowtails to large Blue Morpho butterflies, to walk you through the complete process from start to finish.

What You'll Learn in This Guide

• Every tool and piece of equipment you need
• How to rehydrate a dried butterfly correctly
• How to pin butterfly wings step by step - using tweezers or pinning needle technique
• Drying times and how to finish and display your specimen
• How to pin a moth and what's different
• Pro tips, common mistakes, and answers to the most frequently asked questions

Butterfly pinning — also called butterfly mounting or butterfly spreading — requires patience, the right tools, and proper technique. Don't worry if it takes a few tries to get it right. Even experienced collectors occasionally scratch a wing. The key is to move slowly, stay calm, and trust the process.

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Tools and Equipment for Butterfly Pinning

Before you start, gather everything you need and keep it within reach. Here's the complete equipment list for pinning a butterfly:

• Insect pins (entomology pins) — thin, long, stainless steel pins used to mount the butterfly through its thorax. Size #1 works for most species.
• Setting pins (big-head pins) — pins with larger heads, used to secure the pinning foil against the board without slipping.
• Pinning board — a foam or balsa wood board with a central groove that holds the butterfly's body while the wings are pinned flat to dry. Boards come in different sizes — match the board width to your specimen's wingspan. Larger butterflies like Blue Morphos need wider boards. Use adjustable boards if you pin a wider variety of butterflies, moths, and insects.
• Pinning foil or tape — semi-transparent, flexible strips placed over the wings to hold them flat and smooth against the board during drying. Foil leaves no marks and won't stick to delicate wing scales. Parchment tape works as an alternative to foil in every step below, if that's what you have on hand.
• Flat-tip tweezers or pinning needle - essential for handling wings without damaging scales. The flat tip gives control without concentrating pressure on a single point. I personally prefer pinning needles over tweezers, but both techniques work fine - it comes down to personal preference. Pinning needles tend to work better for smaller species, while flat-tip tweezers are more useful for larger butterflies and silk moths with more robust wings.
• Syringe with needle — used to inject warm water directly into the butterfly's thorax during rehydration. It's best to use a thin insulin syringe.
• Spray bottle — fills the humidity chamber for the rehydration step.
• Plastic container with lid (~2 litres / 67 oz) — serves as a humidity chamber. The lid becomes the platform for the butterfly; the container provides the enclosed humid environment.
• Display frame — the final home for your pinned butterfly once fully dried. Frames with a foam backing allow easy repositioning. Use frames with paper backing to make permanent displays.

Beginner tip: Our butterfly collection kits include all of the tools above in one package, along with butterfly specimens — everything you need to get started in one box.

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Step 1: How to Rehydrate a Butterfly for Pinning

Most dried butterfly specimens arrive folded in a paper triangle or paper envelope, with their wings closed against the body. Before you can spread the wings, you need to rehydrate the butterfly — a process that softens the wing muscles so the wings can be opened without cracking or breaking.

Proper rehydration is the single most important step in butterfly pinning. If the wings don't open easily after rehydration, they are not ready. Never force stiff wings open — they will snap. Patience here saves the specimen.

What You Need for Rehydration

• Your dried butterfly or moth specimen
• A syringe with needle (a thin insulin syringe works best)
• Warm tap water
• A plastic container (~2L) with a lid
• A spray bottle

Rehydration Steps

1. Fill the syringe with warm tap water. The water should be warm, not hot.
2. Remove the butterfly from its paper bag and place it on a flat, stable surface.
3. Secure the butterfly with your fingers or flat-tip tweezers, pressing it gently but firmly so it can't move during injection.
4. Insert the needle into the thorax. The thorax is the middle segment of the butterfly's body — the "chest" area between the head and abdomen, where all four wings attach. The best spot to insert the needle is right where the abdomen meets the thorax — this gives you the smoothest entry point. This is the correct injection point. Do not inject into the abdomen itself (it will tear) or the head.
   
   Safety note: The needle is very sharp, and the body of a butterfly is tougher than it looks. Push slowly and carefully. Once you feel the resistance disappear, the needle is inside the thorax. Hold the butterfly with tweezers for better grip and control.

   

5. Inject the warm water slowly into the thorax. Keep injecting until you see a droplet of water appear at the puncture site or begin to drip out — this tells you the thorax is saturated.
6. Remove the needle carefully and place the butterfly on the upside-down lid of your plastic container.

   

7. Spray the inside of the plastic container until all interior walls are covered with fine water droplets. This creates a sealed humidity chamber.
8. Invert the container over the lid so the butterfly sits inside the enclosed humid environment with the lid as its platform.
9. Wait at least 24 hours. For larger specimens — particularly large Morpho butterflies, hawk moths, or specimens that have been stored for years — allow 36–48 hours.

   

Pro tip: Add a small amount of 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to the water in your spray bottle. This helps prevent mold from forming inside the humidity chamber — particularly important if you're leaving larger specimens in there for more than 24 hours.

How to Test if Your Butterfly Is Ready to Pin

Remove the butterfly from the container and gently squeeze the body with tweezers just beneath the wing joints. If the wings swing open easily and naturally, the butterfly is ready. If they resist, do not force them. Inject a small additional amount of warm water, return to the humidity chamber, and check again after 1–2 hours.

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Step 2: How to Pin Butterfly Wings (Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Wing pinning is the most skill-intensive step in butterfly pinning. This is where patience pays off. Even experienced collectors take their time, adjust their grip, and flip the board as needed. Rushing causes wing damage that cannot be undone.

Pinning the Butterfly to the Pinning Board

1. Insert the main entomology pin through the center of the thorax. While gently squeezing the butterfly's body with tweezers (this causes the wings to open slightly, making insertion easier), push a thin, long stainless steel insect pin straight down through the center of the thorax. The pin must be exactly perpendicular to the body — at a 90-degree angle. Even a slight tilt will cause the butterfly to dry at an angle and look wrong in the final display.

   

   

2. Lower the butterfly into the pinning board groove. Hold the pin at the top and lower the specimen into the central gap of the pinning board - make sure it's centered! For large butterflies like Morpho species (wingspan 12–20 cm), use a wide board. Push the pin in deeply enough that the butterfly's wing joints sit exactly level with the flat surface of the board panels — parallel to the board. This is critical: if the wing joints are too high, the wings will angle upward and won't spread flat; too low and the wings hang into the groove. Getting this height right is one of the most important details in producing a professional-looking result.

   

Applying the Foil and Pinning the Wings

3. Cut two pinning foil strips, each at least twice the length of the butterfly's longest wing. For beginners, cut them even longer — the extra length gives you more to grip and pull. 
4. Lay one foil strip across both wings on one side of the pinning board and pin it at one end with two big-head pins. Let the foil strip overhang slightly past the edge of the board's side panel — this extra length becomes useful later when you're working with the antennae. Keep the strip perfectly straight and taut. At this point, with proper rehydration, the wings should open easily when you nudge them with a tweezers tip.

   

   

5. Slide both the forewing and hindwing under the foil on the same side. Then gently pull the free end of the foil toward you against the board surface. Notice how the foil gently presses the wings flat as you pull. This pull-to-press technique is the foundation of butterfly pinning — practice the motion a few times before you start moving wings. It is very important to have the foil secured by two pins so that it is straight with the edge of the pinning board side panel.
6. Lift the forewing upward into position using flat-tip tweezers or a pinning needle. With tweezers, grip the wing by one of its thicker veins — never grip the wing membrane directly, as it tears instantly. With a pinning needle, slide the tip underneath the wing, hook it under the thickest vein near the front of the wing, and push upward into position — some people find this gives more control than tweezers. Either way, as you move the wing forward and upward, simultaneously pull the foil down with your other hand so it presses and holds the wing as you go. The target position: the trailing (rear) edge of the forewing should be roughly perpendicular to the butterfly's body, but you can of course place it how you like it :) No rules here, but I pin my specimens with a 90-degree angle to the body.
7. Coordinate both hands: dominant hand operates the tweezers, index finger of the other hand pulls the foil, and once the wing reaches position, the middle finger presses down on the foil to hold the wing in place. This three-part coordination is the core skill of butterfly pinning. It feels awkward at first; it becomes second nature by your third specimen.

   

   Pinning needle technique:

   

8. Once the forewing is in the correct position, secure it with four setting pins placed in the foil around the wing — not through the wing itself. The foil should be stretched over the wing, holding it flat and smooth.

   

9. Spread the hindwing using the same technique. Push it upward so it slides underneath the forewing — hindwings always sit under forewings, both in nature and in display. Secure with another four pins. If for some reason the hindwing goes above the forewing, don't worry about it — secure the forewing first, then use two pinning needles: one lifts the rear edge of the forewing, and the second slides the hindwing underneath it.

Pinning needle technique:

10. If for some reason you find pushing the hindwing with needle from underneath the wing challenging you can try to push it up using thick veins near the base of the hindwing, be careful not to pierce the wing - see the picture.

11. Flip the board and repeat on the other side. Here's a practical tip from our own guide: turn the board upside down so your dominant hand is on the same side as the wings you're working on. This gives you the exact same hand positions and feels much more natural. An alternative technique: instead of pulling the foil with one hand and using tweezers with the other, some people find it easier to press the wing down with their index finger while the foil holds it. Experiment with both approaches and use what works best for you.

    

12. Secure the second side: forewing first (four pins), then hindwing (four pins), keeping the board upside down throughout.
13. Position the antennae and abdomen. Once both sides are pinned, remove the two original pins that held the foil to the board at the start. Tuck the antennae under the foil and place a pin close to each one to guide them into a natural forward position. For the abdomen, place two pins in an X pattern on either side to cradle it and prevent drooping during drying.

    

    

    

When you step back, the foil should be stretched smoothly over all four wings, holding everything flat. The antennae should point forward, and the butterfly's body should sit level in the groove.

 

PRO TIP - use pergamen tape and thin foil for butterflies, and thick foil for large moths - thicker foil flattens the wings of large moths and silk moths better, and also works well for hawk moths.

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Step 3: Drying and Displaying Your Pinned Butterfly

Once pinning is complete, the specimen needs to dry fully before it can be removed from the board. Rushing this step is one of the most common beginner mistakes.

Where to Dry

Place the board in a dark, dry, well-ventilated location. Avoid:

• Direct sunlight — UV light fades wing colors, especially in orange, red, and yellow species
• Humid rooms (bathrooms, basements) — humidity causes mold and prevents drying
• Areas with insects — dermestid beetles and other scavengers will damage unprotected specimens, ants are also dangerous!

Drying Time

At room temperature in a dry environment:

• Small butterflies (under 6 cm wingspan): 1 week
• Medium butterflies (6–12 cm): 2 weeks
• Large butterflies like Morpho (12–20 cm): 3 weeks
• Large moths and hawk moths: 4+ weeks

Speed tip: You can accelerate drying by placing the pinning board on a radiator or in an oven set to no more than 40°C (104°F) for 3–4 hours. Repeat once. Do not exceed 40°C — higher temperatures make wings brittle and can cause discoloration. This can damage your pinning board! It is always better to dry at room temperatures :)

How to Tell When It's Dry

Press the abdomen lightly with a pin tip. It should feel completely solid and rigid — no give at all. The wings should also be stiff, not flexible. If there's any softness remaining, leave the specimen for another 3–5 days before testing again.

Removing from the Board and Mounting in a Frame

1. Carefully remove all setting pins and peel back the foil strips slowly, from the outer edge toward the body. Use your other hand to press down on foil while pulling the pins out.
2. Grip the mounting pin (not the wings) and gently lift the butterfly off the board.
3. Place it into your display frame. Frames with a foam or cork backing let you position the pin exactly where you want.
4. For permanent displays, I use a hot glue gun.
5. For any repairs, like torn wings or broken antennae, I use special entomology glue.

Protecting Your Collection Long-Term

A collection is only as good as the boxes you keep it in — always use good quality collection boxes that seal tightly to keep pests out. Keep some kind of pest deterrent inside at all times; I use moth papers with the active compound transfluthrin. For wall display pieces, you can seal the frame with silicone around the edges. Keep your specimens away from direct sunlight, and store your collection in a dark, dry place like a closet.

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How to Pin a Moth: What's Different?

The process for pinning a moth is identical to pinning a butterfly: rehydrate, spread, dry, display. The same tools, the same steps. However, a few differences are worth knowing before you start your first moth.

Wing Position

Butterflies are traditionally spread with forwings at roughly 90 degrees to the body, creating the classic symmetrical silhouette. Moths are often displayed with the hindwings positioned slightly lower than the forewings, showing the full pattern on both wing pairs — particularly beautiful on species with eyespot hindwings like owl moths.

Antenna Handling

Butterfly antennae are club-tipped and relatively sturdy. Moth antennae — especially on male silk moths and hawk moths — are feathered (bipectinate), much more delicate, and prone to breaking. Handle them only with pins: slide them under the foil and use pins placed alongside each antenna to guide them. Never grip them with tweezers.

Heavy Abdomens

Many moth species (hawk moths, saturniid silk moths) have thick, heavy abdomens that tend to droop downward during drying. The X-pin technique at the abdomen is especially important for moths. For very large species, a small piece of cotton placed beneath the abdomen in the board groove provides additional support.

Drying Time

Add an extra week to your estimate for moths compared to similarly-sized butterflies. Dense moth bodies retain moisture longer. A large hawk moth spread in the same session as a large Morpho butterfly should stay on the board a week longer.

Wing Scale Fragility

Some moth wings (particularly on hairy-bodied species) shed scales more easily than butterfly wings. Keep physical contact with the wing surface to an absolute minimum. Always work only on the wing veins with tweezers, never on the membrane.

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Pro Tips and Common Mistakes

Most Common Beginner Mistakes

• Not rehydrating long enough. Wings that resist when you try to open them are not ready. Never force them — they will crack along the veins. Wait, add water, wait more.
• Injecting into the wrong part of the body. Only the thorax (middle segment). The abdomen tears, the head is too small and delicate.
• A crooked mounting pin. The pin must be vertical and perpendicular — exactly 90 degrees to the body. Even a few degrees off causes a visibly crooked dried specimen.
• Wing joints at the wrong height. If the joints are lower than the board surface, the wings can't spread flat. Adjust pin depth until the joints sit exactly level with the board panels.
• Gripping the wing membrane with tweezers. Always use veins as guides. The membrane tears instantly under direct grip. Damage to the membrane is permanent.
• Removing from the board too early. If you take a not-quite-dry specimen off the board, the wings will droop and the body will change shape as the remaining moisture evaporates. When in doubt, give it another 5 days.
• Touching the upper wing surface with bare fingers. Skin oils lift scales permanently. Iridescent species like Blue Morpho butterflies lose patches of iridescence from a single fingerprint — you can touch them with your fingers, but never squeeze them between your fingers!

Tips That Make a Real Difference

• If your pinning needle or tweezers are catching on the wing membrane too aggressively, lightly blunt the tips on fine-grit sandpaper. A slightly duller tip slides along veins more gently.
• Cut your foil strips longer than you think you need. Beginners benefit from having more to grip.
• Left-handed? Simply flip the pinning board so your dominant hand is always in the same position as the wing you're working on.
  
• Store your finished display away from direct sunlight and windows. UV fades pigmented colors (orange, yellow, red) over time. Iridescent structural colors like Blue Morpho blue are more resistant but still benefit from low-light storage.
• Start with damaged or less valuable specimens to practice on — you can reuse the same butterfly over and over to train. Only move on to rarer or more expensive specimens once you feel confident.
• Don't be discouraged by a damaged first specimen. Every experienced collector has a story about their first attempt. The second one is noticeably better; the fifth one starts to look like the guide photos.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Butterfly Pinning

How long does it take to pin a butterfly?

The active work — once the specimen is fully rehydrated — takes 20–40 minutes for a beginner. With experience this drops to as little as 5–10 minutes. However, you need at least 24 hours for rehydration and 2–4 weeks for drying. Budget 3–5 weeks from start to finished display frame.

Can I use regular sewing pins instead of entomology pins?

No. Sewing pins are too thick (they split and crack the thorax), too short (you can't work comfortably with a pinning board), and made from steel that rusts. Rust stains the specimen permanently and cannot be removed. Always use stainless steel entomology pins in the correct size.

How do I know if my butterfly is fully rehydrated?

Gently squeeze the thorax with flat-tip tweezers just below where the wings attach. If the wings swing open freely and without resistance, the butterfly is ready. If you feel resistance — even slight resistance — stop immediately. Do not force it. Inject additional warm water and wait 1–2 more hours. Squeezing the thorax helps to relax the muscles and move wings more freely, do not worry it will not break apart if the specimen is already rehydrated. Never squeeze dry thorax!

Can I pin a butterfly that died years ago?

Yes. Very old, dried specimens can be rehydrated using the same method. Older specimens may need a longer rehydration period (36–72 hours) and sometimes benefit from a second water injection after the first 24 hours. The technique is the same — just be more patient. You can even remount an already pinned specimen. The rehydration process is the same.

What size pinning board do I need?

The board's central groove should be just wide enough to hold the butterfly's body without squeezing the wings. The wing surfaces should rest flat on both board panels. General rule: check your species wingspan online or measure it yourself and get the boards accordingly.

How long do I need to leave the butterfly on the board?

A minimum of 2–3 weeks for medium-sized species in a dry, room-temperature environment. Large butterflies and moths need 3–4+ weeks. You can speed up drying with gentle heat (40°C max). Always test the abdomen with a pin tip before removing — it must feel completely rigid with zero give.

Is butterfly pinning legal?

Pinning captive-bred or sustainably farm-raised butterfly and moth specimens is legal in virtually all countries. Wild-collected specimens may be regulated depending on the species, your location, and local wildlife laws. 

My butterfly's wings cracked when I tried to pin them — what went wrong?

The most common cause is insufficient rehydration. The wings weren't fully softened before you applied pressure. The fix: for your next specimen, extend the rehydration time and test readiness more carefully before beginning to pin. For this one, pin it in a position that minimizes how visible the crack is — and it's not a lost cause. Once the wing is fully dry, you can go back and repair the crack with entomology glue, which seals the crack and stiffens the wing.

Can I pin a butterfly I found dead in the wild?

Yes, wild-found specimens can be pinned with the same process. The challenge is that wild-found butterflies often dried in a folded or partially crushed position, making rehydration and pinning more difficult. They may also have wing damage from predation or weather. Approach them the same way, but expect it to take more patience. 

Pro tip: store your found butterflies, moths, and other insects in the freezer — this keeps them fresh, pest-free, and ready to go anytime.

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Watch It in Action

Prefer to see the whole process in motion? I filmed a full video pinning a Blue Morpho butterfly, from rehydration to the final pin, over on our YouTube channel.

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Ready to Start Pinning?

Pinning your first butterfly is one of the most satisfying craft projects you can take on. The finished result — a perfectly pinned specimen in a display frame — lasts for decades and never stops being impressive. The first attempt is always the hardest. By the third or fourth specimen, the technique starts to feel intuitive, and the results start to look like the photos in this guide.

If you're just getting started, our all-in-one butterfly collection kits include everything you need: pinning board, insect pins, setting pins, tweezers, foil strips, and your choice of butterfly specimens — all in one package. You can also browse our individual entomology tools and display frames at EntomoBoxes.com.

Have questions about any step in this process? We genuinely love hearing from beginners. Reach out any time at info@entomoboxes.com, or follow us on Instagram @entomoboxes for pinning tips, pinning videos, and new specimen arrivals.

Good luck — take your time, and enjoy every step of it.