Subject: Displaying moths -- help wanted

From: [email-masked] (Peter Crowther)
Date: 29 Nov 96 17:32:07 -0800

If moths and butterflies are on permanent display in a glass topped 
case, is there any chance of the colours fading? Should one take any 
special precautions to prevent this from happening, e.g., keeping the 
case out of direct sunlight? Thanks for any help on this question. 
--- Pete Crowther

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From: Michael Gochfeld <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 1 Dec 1996 12:52:13 -0500

I haven't studied this, but my personal experience looking a displayed
specimens in many museums is that various colors fade, and they don't
fade equally. Certainly direct sunlight is bad, but even under normal
indoor conditions there are color changes over time.  I don't know
whether museums have experimented with non-traditional lighting sources,
but this might have the effect of changing the visual appearance anyway.

M Gochfeld

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From: [email-masked] (Kojiro Shiraiwa)
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 1996 11:20:15 +0900

> case out of direct sunlight? Thanks for any help on this question. 

Their colors do fade as they are exposed to strong lights (especially 
sunlights).  Have you seen butterfly collection in the Chicago Museum of 
Natural History?.  I'm not sure how long they are displaying them but boy, 
they are all cream-color and looks all the same.  If I were you I would 
keep my favorite collections in dark dry places.
  Also, it seems black color fades very quickly compared to other colors 
(especially black colors of Admiral butterflies).  I also know green color 
of moths tends to fade out in few days.  Meanwhile, if you are displaying 
specimens with structural color like Morphos, I wouldn't worry.
  I do not know why they fade, but if someone reading this message know 
any reason, please let me know also.  I'm guessing unltra-violet light is 
the main cause, but am I wrong?

- Kojiro Shiraiwa (JAP)

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From: "ORELLANA BORGES . ANDRES MIGUEL" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1996 13:02:38 -0400

> the main cause, but am I wrong?

        Chemical nature of many pigments are degrated by light, though
others are not photo-sensitive. Indeed light as an electromagnetic
wave, excite electrons in chemical bonds and destroys the molecules
that serves as pigments in wings. Ultra-violet is well known as an
agent for altering the configuration of chemicals (for example, as an
mutagenic agent that acts in replicates of DNA).
        My experiences shows that it depends on the the phyletic
affinities of the species that bear a color in particular, due to
utilization of the same or similar chemical as pigment, and not by a
color itself found throughout a collection under the same conditions of
preservation.
 For example:
        Reds in many Heliconiinae fades into pale-orange. However the
same red found in fresh Heliconius erato can be found in Agrias amydon,
but these I have never seen fading out. Thus the pigments are not the
same even if they do look the same.
        Some butterflies are almost impossible to preserve colors they
have while alive. Protographium celadon is an example, it will fade from
light blue to a pale yellow(I can't remember the name of the pigment).
The same is true for Siproeta stelenes. Colors fade because chemicals
are destroyed when the species dies out.
        It is enough to expose the butterfliesdaily once a few ours to
get faded specimens. I recomend what every one else has recomended, to
keep collections out of light. Try to seal every opening as small as it
may appear with dark clothing.

Andres M. Orellana

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From: [email-masked] (AChinLee)
Date: 15 Dec 1996 09:05:22 GMT

A note of caution. Though the iridescent blue in Morphos will not fade,
the black areas will. I have seen this happen with species like M.
helenor, M. peleides insularis and M. achilles.

Reguards,

Alan