I have a large fascination with Entomology and would like to wet preserve the insects i catch. Currently i hold the dead insect in a dry container and after a short time, limbs break off and can no longer be viewed correctly. I wish to keep and catalog my specimens for study. What solution would preserve the specimen the longest, and at what ratio? Where can i get the solution required as well as the glass vials i need?
Two kinds of solutions are most often used. 1. Ethanol at 70% is the least obnoxious to work with. I used this to preserve spiders, which have soft tissues and don’t preserve well dry. It helps to put a drop of glycerol in the vial to keep them soft and prevent immediate drying out if the ethanol evaporates. 2. 5% formalin is also a good preservative, but needs care in handling as it is toxic.
The one thing you will find with both of these is that the colors of the insects will mostly leach out. They tend to last longer in many cases with dry preservation. Not much to be done about it though.
I’d recommend the alcohol.
Here’s a site from an herbarium:
http://botany.si.edu/projects/algae/collpres/liqpres.htm
October 31st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Two kinds of solutions are most often used. 1. Ethanol at 70% is the least obnoxious to work with. I used this to preserve spiders, which have soft tissues and don’t preserve well dry. It helps to put a drop of glycerol in the vial to keep them soft and prevent immediate drying out if the ethanol evaporates. 2. 5% formalin is also a good preservative, but needs care in handling as it is toxic.
The one thing you will find with both of these is that the colors of the insects will mostly leach out. They tend to last longer in many cases with dry preservation. Not much to be done about it though.
I’d recommend the alcohol.
Here’s a site from an herbarium:
http://botany.si.edu/projects/algae/collpres/liqpres.htm
References :