What is the standard procedure to prepare the Butterfly specimen for Scanning Electron microscopy ?

I know, a completely dried specimen (coated with gold or even not coated; but the coating enhances image’s quality) can be mounted directly on the support for its observation by Scanning Electron Microscope. But also a freshly-dead specimen of small size (or a part of it) could be mounted and observed (coated with metal or not coated) immediately, without dehydration, with good results. It depends also on the type of SEM device, as Enrique Garcìa-Barros notes. Otherwise, if you start with a specimen preserved in alcohol (e.g. ethanol 70%), firstly you must obtain gradually the complete dehydration of it through appropriate steps (passages in ethanol with increasing concentration up to absolute ethanol) and instruments, and then the sample can be mounted on the support in order to coat it with metal before its observation. As regards the presence or absence of scales, I agree with David B. Conn: it depends on what you want to see. Furthermore, as the butterflies are generally not small and the support for SEM observation is generally rather small in size, only the part of the insect you have to examine must be prepared and mounted.