Preserving dragonfly?

[Wolfie101]

Got advice from a friend on this but just wanted some second opinions. A few weeks ago I found a dragonfly barely moving  a leg or two, upside down on the floor... I waited until it died, then froze it immediately. I kept it uncovered in the freezer for a few weeks to dry it out, and I want to use it on a mount. How would I go beyond simply freezing it to preserve it?

[socalmountainman]

Wolfie, insects not under glass with PCB crystals to deter pests are quickly devoured by Dermestids.  If you still want to try, lay it on it's back on a peice of styrofoam or cardboard and position the body so that it's straight. You can use pins to hold things in place.  It will be dry in about 2 weeks and you can attached it with Super Glue to your habitat.  Some of the bright colors on the abdomen will fade or darken a little.  In the lab we use mounting boards to spread our insects. You can get them here: http://www.bioquip.com/PreHome.asp   These have a channel cut out to accept the abdomen and the sides of the mounting board are angled to give the wings a little bit of an upward lift.

[Wolfie101]

Thanks Socal, I was planning on having the full mount under a glass case.

[socalmountainman]

Most excellant!  Let me know if I can further assist.  I'm an entomologist for the State of California, Department of Food and Agriculture.  Joe