Entomology Suppliers

Vial supplier

Added Acmevial.com, US company specializing in vials and related items. Pricing isn't visible and it looks like most items are sold in bulk, so this may not be useful for everyone.

… Brad Barnd, 25 March, 2024 - 10:16pm

Entomology Supplies

I don't know how good the quality is, but Amazon actually has some supplies.

… Audrey R Hoff, 25 December, 2023 - 1:58pm

Pin-it Entomological Supply

https://pinitentomology.com/

Former BioQuip folks have started up a new business to sell drawers, display frames and pins.

… Brady Richards, 20 December, 2023 - 4:04pm

Thanks

added!

… Brad Barnd, 20 December, 2023 - 5:09pm

Another one for the list

EntoQuip -- blacklights & pins currently.

… Graham Montgomery, 20 December, 2023 - 3:43pm

Thanks

added. Their blacklights seem pretty neat. Pins are a bit more expensive than other suppliers though.

… Brad Barnd, 20 December, 2023 - 3:58pm

May I self-promote?

I represent Moth and Beetle. We offer a wide variety of products including pins, spreading boards, glassine triangles/envelopes, nets, and more. We also just added glass vials with 2 options of caps!

We are located in Canada, but frequently ship to the US and other countries.

… Moth and Beetle, 4 September, 2023 - 1:48pm

Any chance of carrying glass microvials

for storing dissected genitalia as discussed below?

… Peter W. Messer, 4 September, 2023 - 2:35pm

To answer the question you asked:

Yes, there is a chance of carrying glass genitalia vials, the problem is finding a source. So far I have been unable to find any. I will also look into having them custom made, but that may be too expensive.

I'm sorry for not replying sooner, the reason I didn't is I was waiting for our plastic genitalia vials to get on our website.
They are plastic, but the polypropylene they are made of is very clear. I don't have any insect genitalia to test with, so I put small items in the vials, and I was able to see small details.

Would you be interested in trying these plastic vials out? I have a proposition: I will trade a sample of these genitalia vials for your honest feedback. If you are interested you can fill in the "Contact Us" form here:
https://mothandbeetle.com/contact-us/
and we can continue the conversation.

EDIT TO ADD: We could also discuss specifications of the glass genitalia vials without derailing this thread.

… Moth and Beetle, 29 September, 2023 - 12:29pm

Yes indeed,

I look forward to a sampling of your clear plastic vials in return for my critique. Different sizes? I presume with tight fitting plugs/stoppers either cork or plastic.

… Peter W. Messer, 29 September, 2023 - 12:39pm

Full review of polypropylene genitalia microvials

Review of the polypropylene genitalia microvials sold by https://mothandbeetle.com/
The comparative dimensions of the “Small” versus the “Large” microvial (https://mothandbeetle.com/products/genitalia-micro-vials.html) are as follows.

Length without cap: 16 mm vs 21 mm;
Length with inserted cap: 20 mm vs 24 mm;
Inner diameter at opening: 5.2 mm vs 5.2 mm;
Outer diameter at opening: 6 mm (no lip) vs 7 mm (lip).

The one-size silicone cap fits either microvial size with sufficient tightness. The cap is flexible and sufficiently firm for piercing by standard insect pins. The polypropylene vials are satisfactorily clear for viewing the dissected body parts suspended in glycerine. The glass microvials (no longer available) that were previously sold by now defunct BioQuip were comparatively shorter and only slightly more clear. One minor disadvantage of polypropylene is that it can be scratched by metal forceps and sharp objects. After researching other types of available microvials, I feel the polypropylene items are the best current choice with regard to compactness and transparency.

Peter W. Messer 18 Oct 2023
https://bugguide.net/user/view/12327
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/pmesser

… Peter W. Messer, 18 October, 2023 - 3:00pm

Added

Nice to see someone carrying glue boards in North America :)

… Brad Barnd, 4 September, 2023 - 2:30pm

Thank you

for adding us to the list!

… Moth and Beetle, 6 September, 2023 - 6:21pm

ive had good luck

and good prices on pins from Entomoravia

https://entomoravia.eu/

… Guy A. Hanley, 7 January, 2023 - 11:24pm

I have as well

I'd actually usually get my pins from them over BioQuip

… Tyler Hedlund, 9 January, 2023 - 3:19pm

Yeah

BioQuip pins are reasonably priced

… Christian Jacobs, 11 August, 2023 - 2:11pm

… BugIdentifier, 29 December, 2022 - 6:55pm

seeking insect cabinets

Has anyone purchased cabinets from Viking Metal? (or from other suppliers, I see that a cabinet from Delta Designs https://www.deltadesignsltd.com/our-products/entomology/ was purchased and noted on the Virginia Tech blog...)

I'm hoping to get some recommendations/reviews as our order of 24-drawer Cornell cabinets from Bioquip was understandably cancelled.. But we are a little leery to trust a new company without asking around first.

Also I can vouch for Jean Paquet's drawers and inserts - we often order from him and the drawers have always been good (if sometimes packed a little haphazardly). His cabinets don't look to offer the same level of protection we are looking for, however.

… Amanda Jorgensen, 23 March, 2022 - 9:59am

Michael Branstetter suggested

Michael Branstetter suggested Viking Metal in a bee list serve. I would suggest reaching out to him about it!

… Nathaniel Green, 23 March, 2022 - 5:14pm

Here are some other sites I'v

Here are some other sites I've seen recommended since BioQuip announced it's closing. The only one I can vouch for is hhelements, their drawers are nice!

https://www.hhelementsinc.com/
https://www.johnwhock.com/
https://vikingmetal.com/product/entomology-museum-cabinets/
http://www.atelierjeanpaquet.com/en/

… Nathaniel Green, 10 March, 2022 - 12:23pm

Thanks!

Added them.

… Brad Barnd, 10 March, 2022 - 8:37pm

Seeking *glass* microvials for dissected genitalia.

See relevant 2015 discussion https://bugguide.net/node/view/1111205. Back then the cited purchase sites did not offer the glass microvials. Perhaps now if there's been or will be demand from the BugGuide crowd?

Brad, I'm glad you started this very useful article.

… Peter W. Messer, 10 March, 2022 - 8:10am

Thanks Peter

I still haven't seen glass microvials

… Brad Barnd, 10 March, 2022 - 8:38pm