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OK so you have a sudden death on your hands and dont just want to toss the poor little dead dude aside. what do you do??? well, for the possible benefit of biologists or just your self in the future, here are two methods for preserving your newly deceased specimen.
the first will be the "by the book, scientist method", which involves hard to get products, the second will be the more practical method, the one i used to preserve the scorpions in these pictures over 3 years ago. (keep in mind it is completely possibly to use the first method, just requires more effort, and money. if you intend to send them to a repository of insects, or a scientist, or just keep them for yourself, the second method is cheaper and effective enough).
Method One: The Scientific Way
Take the dead specimen (from henceforth referred to as the DS), and if they are still limp submerse them in near boiling hot water, until their tail goes completely straight.
Next, submerse the specimen in a mix of the following: 12 parts Formalin (formaldehyde is super hard to get these days in the US outside of a university setting), 30 parts Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, and 58 parts distilled water.
(A)During this time make sure the scorpion is as "spread out" as can be. Make sure it's tail is straight, claws are open, and in basically a position that you or anyone else can observe any part of the scorpion.
Any glass container will do up until this point... now is when you need to pick its final "coffin". I recommend 1/2 pint mason jars for small specimens, larger mason jars for larger specimens. anything made of glass.
Now, wash the scorpion down after 48 hours in this fixative in rubbing alcohol and put them in a glass container of your choosing. DS should be stored in glass jar, and 70/30% Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol/water.
now on to the more "practical" method, i.e. the method you can conduct with no red tape and no hassle for cheap.
Method Two: Practicality
The specimen will be dead. Take the DS and wash them off with hot water, if rigor has set in, then gently open their claws and straighten their tail. if not, dont worry, if it is just for you then who cares, if a biologist will be handling it in the future, they will be able to examine the claws just fine.
so, the DS is nice and clean, make a mixture of 85% Ethyl alcohol (best if you can get some grain alcohol, such as Everclear the highest proof you can get). Add to that some over the counter rubbing alcohol (or distilled water). in 2-3 days the scorpion will be "set". See (A) above as to what sort of container to use.
I have used this second method to preserve over 20 scorpions and they are all still nice looking, i can either admire them from outside the jar, or if science calls for it, pull one out and do a quick ID or granulation drawing.
this second method is the one most of you should use, it is better than trying to preserve the specimen in resin (RESIN should not be confused for method one, resin is what makes paperweights etc.) for many reasons: it takes lots of practice to get the resin process correct, quality resin ingredients are expensive, and finally once the specimen is in resin, that is it. You cant take them out for further study. I mean, in theory, you could preserve one in liquid and then ten years later preserve it in resin. The opposite is not possible.
here are some pictures using method two, these specimens are AT LEAST three years old:
A mix of various parabuthus species
A C. elegans couple
C. meisei (0.0.1)
the first will be the "by the book, scientist method", which involves hard to get products, the second will be the more practical method, the one i used to preserve the scorpions in these pictures over 3 years ago. (keep in mind it is completely possibly to use the first method, just requires more effort, and money. if you intend to send them to a repository of insects, or a scientist, or just keep them for yourself, the second method is cheaper and effective enough).
Method One: The Scientific Way
Take the dead specimen (from henceforth referred to as the DS), and if they are still limp submerse them in near boiling hot water, until their tail goes completely straight.
Next, submerse the specimen in a mix of the following: 12 parts Formalin (formaldehyde is super hard to get these days in the US outside of a university setting), 30 parts Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, and 58 parts distilled water.
(A)During this time make sure the scorpion is as "spread out" as can be. Make sure it's tail is straight, claws are open, and in basically a position that you or anyone else can observe any part of the scorpion.
Any glass container will do up until this point... now is when you need to pick its final "coffin". I recommend 1/2 pint mason jars for small specimens, larger mason jars for larger specimens. anything made of glass.
Now, wash the scorpion down after 48 hours in this fixative in rubbing alcohol and put them in a glass container of your choosing. DS should be stored in glass jar, and 70/30% Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol/water.
now on to the more "practical" method, i.e. the method you can conduct with no red tape and no hassle for cheap.
Method Two: Practicality
The specimen will be dead. Take the DS and wash them off with hot water, if rigor has set in, then gently open their claws and straighten their tail. if not, dont worry, if it is just for you then who cares, if a biologist will be handling it in the future, they will be able to examine the claws just fine.
so, the DS is nice and clean, make a mixture of 85% Ethyl alcohol (best if you can get some grain alcohol, such as Everclear the highest proof you can get). Add to that some over the counter rubbing alcohol (or distilled water). in 2-3 days the scorpion will be "set". See (A) above as to what sort of container to use.
I have used this second method to preserve over 20 scorpions and they are all still nice looking, i can either admire them from outside the jar, or if science calls for it, pull one out and do a quick ID or granulation drawing.
this second method is the one most of you should use, it is better than trying to preserve the specimen in resin (RESIN should not be confused for method one, resin is what makes paperweights etc.) for many reasons: it takes lots of practice to get the resin process correct, quality resin ingredients are expensive, and finally once the specimen is in resin, that is it. You cant take them out for further study. I mean, in theory, you could preserve one in liquid and then ten years later preserve it in resin. The opposite is not possible.
here are some pictures using method two, these specimens are AT LEAST three years old:
A mix of various parabuthus species
A C. elegans couple
C. meisei (0.0.1)