The following Terms and Conditions apply to the use of this Web site as well as all transactions conducted through the site.

• Copyright

• All content appearing on this Web site is the property of: 

  
  DeadInsects.Net
  
  Copyright © 2015-2023 DeadInsects.Net. All rights reserved. As a user, you are authorized only to view, copy, print, and distribute documents and images from this Web site so long as (1) the document or image is used for informational purposes only, and (2) any copy of the document or image (or portion thereof) includes the following copyright notice: Copyright © 2015-2023 DeadInsects.Net. All rights reserved.




• Use Of Site

• By ordering through this website, you agree to all the terms stated here on the Terms and Conditions page.

  Read this entire page. Ask questions before you place an order.

  Items that are listed as out of stock may still be available, or may soon become available, so please feel free to inquire about availability. If you are looking for something that does not appear on this website, ask. Only a fraction of our available specimens appear on the site, and mostly just the commonly ordered material.

  Available specimens are generally mature/adults unless otherwise stated as nymphs, naiads, immatures, etc. Mantises, for example, are usually shipped as nymphs and it is stated as such on the ordering pages.
  

  We specialize in common, backyard species that are considered cosmopolitan. This means that much of what we sell occurs in many US cities. House flies, Musca domestica, occur throughout the country, for example.
  

  Information on this website may contain technical inaccuracies, typographical errors, or incorrect species identifications. Taxonomy, the categorization of living organisms, is a fluid science. Scientists regularly lump and split and move organisms back and forth between groups and rename them. They often make these determinations based on observations made through microscopes and dissection, and more recently on the basis of DNA sequencing. We use Bugguide.Net to match our material to known specimens, and highly recommend you do too.

  Photos DO NOT represent the exact specimen you are ordering. Sometimes our photos are of living specimens while all specimens sold through this website are dead in a raw, unpinned/unspread state. Photos are intended only as a general reference to what you will receive. If you are a super-taxonomist, contact us prior to ordering with your specific questions. If you are a passionate hobbyist, it will be clear to you that we have made an attempt to correctly identify and represent everything we offer through our photos. If an insect is listed at the species level it will be shipped as such. If it is sold at the family level under a general term like "stink bug", please assume that we will ship you a stink bug from the Pentatomidae family. If this material is going a bit over your head, do not despair. By default we do typically understand our customer demographic very well and ship accordingly.
  

  Most specimens are stored in our bug freezer or in alcohol (~70% ethanol), and ship as such with soft tissues intact and usually in a hydrated condition as if they had only recently died. Upon arrival, it is recommended that the specimens be immediately placed into a freezer to halt the process of further decay, or otherwise be pinned and dried in their final positions. Properly preserved specimens of many insects will outlast the lifespan of any human being, as evidenced by museum collections. Our specimens are not typically dried, unless such is clearly stated in the product description (or more likely with non-domestic exotics). Softer-bodied specimens almost always ship in 70% ethanol in small vials. To pin especially small specimens it is recommended that you glue them to a small triangle of paper (called a "point") and then place the pin through a corner of the paper triangle instead of the insect inself.

  Again, we preserve most of our specimens so that they will arrive in a pliable condition, easing pinning and mounting tasks and usually preventing your having to construct a relaxing chamber. We do not guarantee that specimens will arrive in a pliable condition, but this is likely to be the case for most. Choosing express mail shipping increases the chance they'll be better preserved upon arrival. Depending on the type of specimen it may dry out and become rigid during shipment. For more information about re-hydrating or pinning specimens, please see "How to Start a Proper Insect Collection" at Bugguide.Net.




• Shipping & Delivery

• Shipping Service:

  Read this all very carefully. We will not refund your order if you were confused about the shipping day and we ship before you write. You are paying for our service: our time in collecting, curating and packing the specimens. The specimens themselves effectively have no value. 

  Two shipping speeds are offered, as below. Frozen bugs ship best by faster overnight mail. In any case, if you don't plan to use them immediately put them in the freezer immediately upon arrival.

  We ship FedEx within the US (sorry, no international shipping). Your package will ship from Arizona. A tracking number will be emailed when your package enters the shipping stream and we close out your order on our software panel later in the day (as late as 5 PM, Pacific Time). Please note the email address you order/pay with as that is the one the tracking number will go to. We do NOT guarantee timely delivery by FedEx.

  Shipping Days: We ship orders no later than the business day FOLLOWING receipt of the order, and with respect to the chart below. We ship Monday through Wednesday (no shipments on Thursdays through Sundays). So, a Monday order will ship Tuesday. A Tuesday order will ship Wednesday, etc. Effectively, orders placed on Wednesday through Sunday will not ship until the following Monday. If we need to deviate from this schedule, we will contact you.

  This chart below reflects the text above...

   

  Day You Place Order	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
  FedEx Express $35	ships Tue.	ships Wed.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.
  FedEx 2 day $12	ships Tue.	ships Wed.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.	ships Mon.

   

  We check our email regularly. If you want clarification, please ask before ordering.

   

  Two Shipping Services are offered:

  1. FedEx Express- This is the better shipping choice for the specimens we sell because they are frozen and begin thawing as soon as we pull them from the freezer. Express is an overnight delivery service (once we ship) and costs $35. Please note that our shipping days affect when you will get your package (see chart above).

  2. FedEx 2 Day- This is a cheaper 2 day delivery service and costs $12. The frozen bugs still arrive in good condition with this slower shipping method but in very hot weather the faster service is recommended instead.

  Holidays may affect shipping on the day of and the days surrounding your shipment. 

   

  Packaging:

  Most specimens are shipped in portion cups (small plastic condiment cups with lids that you see in fast food restaurants) between layers of soft tissue paper, and packed snugly to prevent jostling. Small or soft-bodied specimens may ship in 1.5 milliliter vials of 70% ethanol (watered down alcohol for preservation as pictured below). Cups are labeled to reference the contents in the way they were described on the website. (Please refer to the product pages before asking us to duplicate the same information in an email.)

  

  Free pins are included with every order. Order ten insects and get ten free pins. Order a hundred and get a hundred free pins. (Free pins are not, however, shipped with bulk orders like honeybees or house flies as examples.)

   




• International

• We're sorry but we only ship within the USA at this time. Export requires licenses we do not have and $90 or so inspection fees that make it cost prohibitive.




• Return Policy

• DeadInsects.Net guarantees that complete, intact specimens are shipped, but we do not guarantee that legs or antennae will arrive still attached to the specimen. This is because your package will pass through the hands of innumerable postal employees between origin and destination. Our packing methods are based on 15 years of experience shipping these items specifically, and another 19 working in the shipping industry in general (UPS was my day job for 19 years). Every reasonable effort is made to ensure your specimens will arrive intact. Craft clue may be used to glue pieces back onto specimens. Please note as stated at the top of this page--we ship raw, unmounted/un-spread insects.

  We will consider replacing damaged specimens in extreme cases, but customer will be asked to pay re-shipping fees. Not all specimens are replaceable. Store credit may be offered for specimens valuing $10 or more. We may request that damaged specimens be returned in some cases.

  We will not refund your order if you were confused about the shipping day and we ship before you write. See shipping days in the chart above. You are paying for a service: our time in collecting, curating and packing the specimens. The specimens effectively have no value. We sell a service, not a product. The frozen material is not in the same condition if you return it to us, as it was shipped in. We will not refund you if you don't contact us on the day of arrival with concerns. This is a persishable product and this page and your invoice indicates this.
  

   




• Store Hours

• Customer service at this time is restricted to email. I collect almost every night, and late into the night out here on the West Coast. 8 AM on the East Coast is more like my bedtime than a time of day I want to be taking a phone call. Finally, the "paper trail" is invaluable to me as I exchange notes with you about what insects you are requesting. My shipping schedule reflects my inability to get most orders out same-day, but I am committed to shipping them the following day per the chart above.

  You may use the Contact Us form linked at the top of this page or contact us directly at sales "at" deadinsects.net