Quality
Our default, assumed quality within the collection is A1-, meaning specimens may have some defects present, although many of our specimens are A1 perfect. The default quality you should assume is A1- (unless otherwise noted). Due to the quantity we have on hand (~3 million specimens) we have not yet assessed the quality of every specimen. If you require an absolutely perfect specimen please specify in the notes box on your order form. If we do not have a perfect specimen for you, we will refund you for that specimen on your order and we will not ship you a lesser quality specimen.
Please note that many of our pest specimens are wild-caught, (versus many of our tropical butterflies which are farm reared) so many available species lived a portion of their lives in the wild and, as such delicate creatures, small defects can often be present. Please note that for very small specimens we cannot guarantee every leg/antennae be present, although we will do our best to send you a complete specimen.
If you order a A1- specimen and we find we ONLY have lesser quality specimens we will check with you before shipping. Likely we will send you a photo of the specimen available and offer a discounted price for a lesser quality specimen with your approval.
As we sort through the collection/add new products, we will add in the actual quality available following the below guide.
A1
Perfect or very near perfect. This usually applies to farm reared specimens. Antennae intact. No visible defects.
A1–
Specimen nearly perfect but with a small notable flaw (easily repairable or not readily noticed). This can be a slight flight wear, detached but included antennae, detached but included tarsi, small split in wing edge, etc.
A–
Notable flaws but not major (often easily repairable). This can be a detached leg, damaged/missing antennae, or detached tarsi; split in the wing edge, flight wear such as a chip missing from the wing edge, etc.
A2
Specimen has notable flight wear and scraping to wings/body, there could be small/very fragile pieces missing (such as broken antennae, a missing tarsi, etc.). A2 specimens can still be pinned to be a nice representative of this species for your collection.
B
Specimen is heavily damaged with multiple missing pieces, typically used for art supplies or as parts to repair other specimens.