Insect Pins

[Robin Leech]

Sometimes a verdigris forms with stainless pins.  I have never seen it with
the
enameled, black pins.
Robin Leech

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Yanega" <dyanega at POP.UCR.EDU>
To: <TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG>
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: Insect Pins


> >Collecting entomologists,
> >We have been using Elefant pins from Austria for the past several years
and
> >now it seems the company is defunct, machines are down, or are otherwise
> >unable to provide pins.
> >Could any one please offer us some alternative sources for insect pins?
> >There is a bad taste in some local folks mouth about Morpho brand pins as
> >they are considered weak, with little tensile strength.
> >Has anybody tried Austerlitz?
>
> We've been buying Ent. Spendlicky/Bohemia pins through Martin Hulovec
> for the last several years, and have been very happy with them - in
> some ways superior to the Elefant pins (better pinheads, more
> consistent in length). At US$17.50 per 1000 for enamel, and $21.50
> for stainless, they are also the cheapest pins we've found. The only
> drawback we've noticed (after using more than 50,000 of their pins)
> are that the enamel on the latest batches is often slightly
> irregular, rather than a perfectly even coating. Austerlitz pins look
> almost identical, and are priced very slightly higher, but nowhere
> near the price of Elefant. It's not surprising that Elefant is out of
> business when there are companies that undersell them by a factor of
> 3! Morpho indeed has a bad reputation, and deserves it.
>
> The one problem is that for some reason Mr. Hulovec has been
> unresponsive to communication for the last month or so (His e-mail:
> mhulovec at vol.cz), and many people are wondering whether something has
> happened. I can offer no idea as to when or if he'll be available
> again. I'd recommend trying him first, and then maybe giving
> Austerlitz a shot if you can't wait any longer for a response. I have
> a copy (dated February) of the equipment and price list, if anyone
> needs the details.
>
> Peace,
> --
>
> Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
> Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
> phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
>             http://entmuseum9.ucr.edu/staff/yanega.html
>    "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
>          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
>