Preserving and Pinning

[Ganoderma]

yes i have used it with dragon flies and sometimes i get a small shrivel. i have soem LARGE grasshopers i wold very much like to keep the full body shape and colour. will acetone fix the colour or just delay blackening?

thanks

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I used acetone for a large scorpion (Heterometrus sp.) and it worked OK. Except, if you look at him from the side, he's completely flattened -- like it liquifed the guts and sucked them out.

 

[Dorcus]

I'm probably going to start a controversy by saying this, but for species with "bigger bodies", it is best to use a fine syringe, and suck out all of the liquid inside their abdomen, and then inject with formalin...

 

[Ganoderma]

i want to prevent the dehydration...

mmm i don't think you will start anything. when doing reptiles/amphibians you have to slit and inject stuff, its just ugly. so are you saying that formalin will in fact fix the colours of DRY specimens??? if so you could shape first then soak, no? in my experience formalin has made them super brittle.

 

[Dorcus]

I said it'd start something because formalin is a carcinogen... anyways, yes, first position (Either that, or immediately position after injection). Then inject some formalin into every leg, and that should keep the position.

BTW if specimens become too brittle, it's usually because the solution is too strong. Try diluting it.

 

[myrmecophile]

As far as I know formalin will not fix bright colors. Additionally as mentioned it is a known carcinogen and will be difficult to find as a result. Since I do not routinely collect hoppers I have not tried acetone to fix them but since it works for Odonates it should work on hoppers. Personally I have never had a large grasshopper shrink but the "guts can be removed and the resulting cavity stuffed if you wish. In many cases removal of the guts is more to reduce the chance of a foul smell than anything else.

 

[Dorcus]

Hm... it doesn't keep the bright colors? Oh well, I usually use it for larger species of beetles, tarantulas, and scorpions... works well with those...as for amphibians and reptiles... it's best to cast a mold... i think...

 

[Ganoderma]

hmm thanks. i will try both formaline (i will buy formaldahyde and dilute myself) and acetone for the hoppers. but many arthropod groups have different preservative reactions, so being ok for dragon flies may nto mean a lot. i will try though thanks!

I may try injecting, it has a large abdomen that will likely cave, so i probably should.

 

[Ganoderma]

for future reference. be carefull what type of plastic you use with acetone....i should have read into it more. i hat ethe stuff so even more reason to read about it. anyway it completely melted my palstic jar and COMPLETELY fried my hopper...i thought it would be ok seen as it is sold in plastic bottles, but a different kind of plastic clearly.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Heheh . . . I didn't want to melt anything (not even thinking that some is stored in plastic), so I bought a ceramic dish to do the soaking in. But next time, I'm flushing the post-soak stuff down the toilet. I kinda melted my sink that I THOUGHT was ceramic, but was apparently some variety of plastic. :8o

Here's hoping the landlord doesn't notice.

 

[Ganoderma]

haha...

makes me second guess latex gloves as well...

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Just wash your hands a lot during the process . . . the stuff really dries out your skin, especially if it's pure.

 

[nepenthes]

So I got a bunch of specimine 10-15 ants, some have alates. And Im almost scared to try and take them out and pin them.

 

[myrmecophile]

Remember, you do not actually put the pin thru them but mount (glue) them on paper points.

 

[nepenthes]

Yea I know. I use actual pins though they don't pierce through he ant. just dab it right under the Mid section.