Method 1: The Riker Mount. Little more than a wooden (or cardboard) box with a glass top and is filled with cotton batting. The specimen is placed in the box and is pressed between the cotton batting and the glass top. This technology is hundreds of years old and is akin to pining specimens in a box. There is no protection from: changes of humidity; the germination of spores of mold or fungus; the hatching of parasitic larval eggs. Furthermore, the cotton batting acts like a wick pulling moisture from the environment and keeping the specimen moist and subject to decomposition. Many insect collections have been lost to this primitive method. This is by far the least expensive and also the least desirable method of mounting butterflies.

Method 2: Wooden shadow box. It is a simple wooden box with a glass front and back. The specimen is glued to the back glass panel and sits between the two panes of glass. Because wood and glass are dissimilar materials with different rates of expansion and contraction, they cannot be sealed and in fact the glass panels must float in the wooden frame. This means that the case is not sealed and the specimen is subject to the changes of the surrounding environmental conditions. These are aesthetically pleasing because as humans we are innately attracted to wood. This method uses many of the same techniques as the making of wooden framed windows and is just as old. There is no protection from: changes of humidity; the germination of spores of mold or fungus; the hatching of parasitic larval eggs. Expense is moderate.

Method 3: 100% Acrylic case. This is simply a box whose sides, front, and back are made of acrylic. The specimen is mounted on a thin acrylic rod and floats between the front and back panel. Since all components of the case are made of the same material it can be welded together making an airtight seal. This creates a distinct difference between the constant environment inside the case as compared to the ever-changing atmospheric environment. This constancy allows the specimen to be preserved in an ideal environment that is not subject to changes of humidity. This is the most technologically advanced method of preserving and displaying butterfly and insect specimens. This is however the most expensive of the three methods.