Preserving a dead bee is straightforward once you know the basics: clean it, position it while it’s still flexible, let it dry completely, and protect it from pests. The whole process takes about a week from start to finish. Whether you found a bee in your garden or want to start a small collection, the techniques used by entomologists scale down easily to a single specimen on your kitchen table.
Start While the Bee Is Still Flexible
A freshly dead bee is soft enough to position within the first day or two. If you find one that’s already stiff and brittle, you’ll need to rehydrate it first in what entomologists call a relaxing chamber. This is just a sealed plastic container with wet paper towels inside.
To build one, line the bottom of an airtight container with a few sheets of paper towel soaked in equal parts water and 70% rubbing alcohol. Place a small lid or dish on top of the towels to keep the bee from sitting directly in moisture, then set the bee on that platform and seal the container. The alcohol prevents mold while the humidity slowly softens the specimen. A dried bee typically needs one to three days in the chamber, depending on how long it’s been dead. Check it daily, because if you forget about it, mold can grow and ruin the specimen.
Cleaning Before You Preserve
Bees are fuzzy, and that fuzz traps pollen, dirt, and dried nectar. If your bee looks grimy, a gentle wash makes a noticeable difference in the final result. The method used by the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab is surprisingly low-tech: a small basin of water with a drop of dish soap, a soft brush or gentle agitation to loosen debris, and a careful rinse. Some collectors use a salad spinner on a low, gentle cycle to remove excess water, then a hair dryer on cool to fluff the body hairs back up. Handle the wings as little as possible since they tear easily when wet.
Dry Preservation With Pinning
Pinning is the most common way to preserve a bee long-term. You’ll need entomology pins (stainless steel pins sold specifically for insect mounting, not sewing pins, which rust) and a piece of foam or corrugated cardboard to hold everything in place while drying.
Push the pin straight down through the thorax, the middle body section between the head and abdomen, positioned between the bases of the front wings and slightly to the right of the centerline. This placement avoids damaging the wings and keeps the bee balanced on the pin. Push the pin about two-thirds of the way through so the bee sits in the upper third, leaving room below for a label.
Once pinned, use the foam block to hold the pin upright. If you want the wings spread open for display, you can gently fan them out and hold them in position with small strips of paper pinned over each wing. Arrange the legs and antennae with a needle or toothpick while the bee is still pliable.
Allow at least five days for the specimen to dry completely at room temperature. If you have access to a drying oven set to around 40°C (104°F), two days is enough. The bee is ready when the body and legs feel rigid and no longer give when lightly touched. At that point, carefully remove any paper strips you used to hold the wings.
Wet Preservation in Alcohol
If you’d rather keep your bee in a vial or small jar, liquid preservation works well and requires less hands-on technique. The standard solution is 70% ethanol, which has been used in entomology collections for over a century. You can substitute 70% isopropyl alcohol from a pharmacy in a pinch, though ethanol is preferred for long-term storage.
Simply place the bee in a small glass vial or jar and fill it with enough alcohol to fully submerge the specimen. Seal it tightly to prevent evaporation. Over months and years the alcohol level will drop, so check periodically and top it off. One trade-off to know about: alcohol gradually fades the bee’s colors over time, so a pinned and dried specimen will look more lifelike in the long run. Wet specimens also tend to become more brittle if you ever remove them from the liquid later.
Resin and Shadow Box Display
For a decorative display piece rather than a scientific specimen, you have two popular options. A shadow box or small glass-topped display case works well for pinned bees. Alternatively, clear casting resin lets you embed the bee permanently in a transparent block. If you go the resin route, make sure the bee is thoroughly dried first. Any remaining moisture will create bubbles or cloudiness in the resin as it cures. Pour the resin in thin layers, letting each layer partially set before adding the next, to keep the bee from floating to the surface.
Protecting Your Specimen Long-Term
The biggest threat to a dried bee isn’t time. It’s other insects. Dermestid beetles (carpet beetles and their larvae) will find and eat dried insect specimens if given the chance. They can reduce a bee to dust in weeks. Keep your specimen in a tightly sealed container or display case at all times.
For added protection, a small amount of naphthalene (mothball flakes or crystals) placed inside the sealed box repels insect pests. Some collectors use small squares cut from pest-control resin strips attached to an inside corner of the storage box. Either way, the key is keeping the container closed so the vapor stays concentrated and other pests can’t get in. Store your specimens away from direct sunlight, which fades colors, and in a dry area, since humidity encourages mold.
Adding a Label
A label turns a curiosity into something with real scientific value. At minimum, record three things: where you found the bee (as specific as you can, ideally county and state), the date you found it (written with the month in Roman numerals, like 15-VII-2025 for July 15, 2025), and your name or initials as the collector. Print this information on a small slip of paper and mount it on the pin below the specimen. If you preserved the bee in liquid, tuck the label inside the vial, written in pencil or archival ink so the alcohol doesn’t dissolve it.
One Legal Note
Most bees you’ll encounter are perfectly legal to collect and preserve. The one exception in the continental United States is the rusty patched bumblebee, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act. It’s a medium-sized bumblebee with a distinctive rust-colored patch on the center of its back, found primarily in the upper Midwest and Northeast. If you’re unsure what species you have, a quick photo comparison online can help you rule it out. Other countries have their own protected species lists worth checking if you’re outside the U.S.