Insect pins are used by entomologists for mounting collected insects. [2] They can also be used in dressmaking for very fine silk or antique fabrics. [3]
As standard, they are 38 millimetres (1.5 in) long and come in sizes from 000 (the smallest diameter), through 00, 0, and 1, to 8 (the largest diameter). [2] [4] [5] The most generally useful size in entomology is size 2, which is 0.46 millimetres (0.018 in) in diameter, with sizes 1 and 3 being the next most useful. [2] [4]
They were once commonly made from brass or silver, but these would corrode from contact with insect bodies and are no longer commonly used. [2] Instead they are nickel-plated brass, yielding "white" or "black" enameling, or even made from stainless steel. [4] Similarly, the smallest sizes from 000 to 1 used to be impractical for mounting until plastic and polyethylene became commonly used for pinning bases. [2]
There are also micro-pins, which are 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long. [4] minutens are headless micropins that are generally only made of stainless steel, and used for double-mounting. The insect is mounted on the minuten, which is pinned to a small block of soft material, which is in turn mounted on a standard, larger, insect pin. [6] [7]
A file is a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece. It is common in woodworking, metalworking, and other similar trade and hobby tasks. Most are hand tools, made of a case hardened steel bar of rectangular, square, triangular, or round cross-section, with one or more surfaces cut with sharp, generally parallel teeth. A narrow, pointed tang is common at one end, to which a handle may be fitted.
A banana connector is a single-wire electrical connector used for joining wires to equipment. The term 4 mm connector is also used, especially in Europe, although not all banana connectors will mate with 4 mm parts, and 2 mm banana connectors exist. Various styles of banana plug contacts exist, all based on the concept of spring metal applying outward force into the unsprung cylindrical jack to produce a snug fit with good electrical conductivity. Common types include: a solid pin split lengthwise and splayed slightly, a tip of four leaf springs, a cylinder with a single leaf spring on one side, a bundle of stiff wire, a central pin surrounded by a multiple-slit cylinder with a central bulge, or simple sheet spring metal rolled into a nearly complete cylinder. The plugs are frequently used to terminate patch cords for electronic test equipment such as laboratory power supply units, while sheathed banana plugs are common on multimeter probe leads.
Insect collecting refers to the collection of insects and other arthropods for scientific study or as a hobby. Most insects are small and the majority cannot be identified without the examination of minute morphological characters, so entomologists often make and maintain insect collections. Very large collections are conserved in natural history museums or universities where they are maintained and studied by specialists. Many college courses require students to form small collections. There are also amateur entomologists and collectors who keep collections.
The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available. A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small game hunting and pest control. The .410 started off in the United Kingdom as a garden gun along with the .360 and the No. 3 bore (9 mm) rimfire, No. 2 bore (7 mm) rimfire, and No. 1 bore (6 mm) rimfire. .410 shells have similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt cartridge, allowing many single-shot firearms, as well as derringers and revolvers chambered in that caliber, to fire .410 shot shells without any modifications.
A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder camera, single lens reflex type, single lens mirrorless type or any movie camera of 16 mm or higher gauge. Lens mounts are also used to connect optical components in instrumentation that may not involve a camera, such as the modular components used in optical laboratory prototyping which join via C-mount or T-mount elements.
A feeler gauge is a tool used to measure gap widths. Feeler gauges are mostly used in engineering to measure the clearance between two parts.
In entomology, an aspirator, also known as a pooter, is a device used in the collection of insects, crustaceans or other small, fragile organisms, usually for scientific purposes.
A collet is a segmented sleeve, band or collar. One of the two radial surfaces of a collet is usually tapered and the other is cylindrical. The term collet commonly refers to a type of chuck that uses collets to hold either a workpiece or a tool but has other mechanical applications.
An interference fit, also known as a pressed fit or friction fit, is a form of fastening between two tightfitting mating parts that produces a joint which is held together by friction after the parts are pushed together.
A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air (pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a small explosive charge. Nail guns have in many ways replaced hammers as tools of choice among builders.
Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are colloquially called featherwing beetles, because the hindwings are narrow and feathery.
Ludwig's bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family, and named after Baron von Ludwig. It is a medium-to-large sized species.
Engineering fits are generally used as part of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing when a part or assembly is designed. In engineering terms, the "fit" is the clearance between two mating parts, and the size of this clearance determines whether the parts can, at one end of the spectrum, move or rotate independently from each other or, at the other end, are temporarily or permanently joined. Engineering fits are generally described as a "shaft and hole" pairing, but are not necessarily limited to just round components. ISO is the internationally accepted standard for defining engineering fits, but ANSI is often still used in North America.
Bearing balls are special highly spherical and smooth balls, most commonly used in ball bearings, but also used as components in things like freewheel mechanisms. The balls come in many different grades. These grades are defined by bodies such as the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA), a body which sets standards for the precision of bearing balls. They are manufactured in machines designed specially for the job.
Miniopterus brachytragos is a bat in the genus Miniopterus that occurs in northern and western Madagascar. Populations of this species have historically been included in Miniopterus manavi, but molecular data published in 2008 and 2009 indicate this supposed species in fact consists of five separate species, including the newly described M. brachytragos. Up to four species of this group may occur in the same place. M. brachytragos has been found in dry and wet forests from sea level to 320 m (1,050 ft) altitude.
A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Examples are bird and mammal study skins, mounted specimens, skeletal material, casts, pinned insects, dried material, animals preserved in liquid preservatives, and microscope slides. Natural history museums are repositories of zoological specimens
Metal spinning, also known as spin forming or spinning or metal turning most commonly, is a metalworking process by which a disc or tube of metal is rotated at high speed and formed into an axially symmetric part. Spinning can be performed by hand or by a CNC lathe.
The NZASM 40 Tonner 0-6-2T of 1892 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
Caterpillar inflation is a method of specimen preservation found in insect collecting, used mostly during the 19th and early 20th century.
The conservation and restoration of insect specimens is the process of caring for and preserving insects as a part of a collection. Conservation concerns begin at collection and continue through preparation, storage, examination, documentation, research and treatment when restoration is needed.