Soaking insects

What do you think about this design for soaking butterflies?
On the lid and on the platform - a thick viscose cloth to absorb condensation.
Water is poured so that it does not flood the platform.
The evaporation area is large.
Butterflies are placed on the platform.
In theory, in principle, the same desiccator is obtained.


This post was edited by PhilGri - 11/23/2019 15: 42

I use the same design, but instead of a plastic pallet, a metal grid with a small cell.

Colleagues! share your experience
When soaking Eutetrapha and some Saperda, they hopelessly lose the color of the scales. Who solves this problem how?

What do you think about this design for soaking butterflies?
On the lid and on the platform - a thick viscose cloth to absorb condensation.
Water is poured so that it does not flood the platform.
The evaporation area is large.
Butterflies are placed on the platform.
In theory, in principle, the same desiccator is obtained.

It is not necessary to pour a lot of water. It will still not be able to evaporate more than the laws of physics allow (saturated steam pressure). The platform can be without holes - this does not affect. Just pour water and don't add anything?

It is not necessary to pour a lot of water. It will still not be able to evaporate more than the laws of physics allow (saturated steam pressure). The platform can be without holes - this does not affect. Just pour water and don't add anything?

I tried different things, with different chemicals. I really liked the water+phenol mixture, but it's not very useful for my health. But vodka is just the thing!!!

My formula: I pour boiled water on the bottom of the container, then put a sponge for washing dishes, on it a layer of cotton wool with the material. During the day, the material of medium and small sizes is perfectly soaked and nothing spoils. Large ones are stored for 36 hours.

Yes, everyone has similar actions. I add vodka to the water, put the material on the sticks so that it does not touch the sponge,and the fabric takes excess moisture,and condensation on the lid and walls is not terrible.

This post was edited by babochkalov - 04.04.2020 14: 37

This is unlikely to apply to soaking, but I didn't find a more appropriate topic. How do I keep cassids green? In my collection of beetles on pins, I would like them not to lose their color in this form.

Questions about beetles. If you collect them immediately in vodka (40% alcohol), is it possible to leave them in it until straightening? Is it possible to leave the material in this form for several weeks, for example, or will it spoil and it is better to take it out on mattresses and dry it?

Questions about beetles. If you collect them immediately in vodka (40% alcohol), is it possible to leave them in it until straightening? Is it possible to leave the material in this form for several weeks, for example, or will it spoil and it is better to take it out on mattresses and dry it?

If the beetles come from traps, then you should use stronger alcohol, because the liquid from the beetles dilutes the alcohol. if you catch dry fish, you can get 40%. But why use vodka??? There are so many dezs now. funds based on eth. alcohol...

If the beetles come from traps, then you should use stronger alcohol, because the liquid from the beetles dilutes the alcohol. if you catch dry fish, you can get 40%. But why use vodka??? There are so many dezs now. funds based on eth. alcohol...

Thanks for the advice.
I sent the collected material to the freezer in the summer, but by the fall I couldn't get anything in there, so I left the autumn beetles, including those from traps in bottles with alcohol-containing liquid. Now I'm afraid they'll go bad.

The post was edited by chebur - 08.10.2020 21: 49

Thanks for the advice.
I sent the collected material to the freezer in the summer, but by the fall I couldn't get anything in there, so I left the autumn beetles, including those from traps in bottles with alcohol-containing liquid. Now I'm afraid they'll go bad.

I collected insects in 60% alcohol for students (including caddis flies and diptera). The material did not deteriorate, but some insects discolored when they were in the liquid for a long time. At the same time, ground beetles from the traps endured being in alcohol for several months. And they dealt with it normally. If there is some "suffocation" after alcohol-dry and put in the freezer for a few minutes. days. After defrosting, the mobility is restored, if not completely, then enough for high-quality straightening.

Greetings, but I have a question for real experts. Is there a way and how to soak a butterfly previously planted on some super resistant glue, that a piece of paper on it is oak, a needle can not pierce the breast ( traditional soaking and with boiling water is not offered, naturally tried, to no avail)

In the photo - Kamchatka Swallowtail

Good day to all!

I need help. An almost 30-year-old specimen of odontolabis alces with closed jaws was found. I tried soaking it on the ground, in a desiccator and a water bath (and for quite a long time) - the mandibles remain motionless, despite the fact that all other joints soften perfectly; this often happens in lucanids, but this is the first case when even the "power" method fails to open the jaws.
If someone has encountered something similar, please share possible solutions to the problem) You can do it here or, if it's more convenient, by email @guglokos@rambler.ru

This is a beetle without plaque and scales, you can even boil it in boiling water. But I would first soak in 70% alcohol for a week. And yes, in any case, you will have to push it with considerable effort.

GlebSinon, try soaking the beetle in vinegar for 1-2 days. If it doesn't work, freeze and defrost it several times in vinegar.
Also, for the most oak beetles, enzymes are now used.

Evgenich, ENO, thank you so much for your feedback! 1.5 days in vinegar did the trick!)

When spreading flies of the family of babblers with yellow spots, I encountered a darkening of the pattern on the abdomen. Can this be avoided or corrected? This process is similar to what happens with large dragonflies with a green and blue body pattern?
And one more thing. I've heard somewhere that there are special straighteners for flies that make it easier to spread their legs, but I've never seen them. What are they and what do they look like?

When spreading flies of the family of babblers with yellow spots, I encountered a darkening of the pattern on the abdomen. Can this be avoided or corrected? This process is similar to what happens with large dragonflies with a green and blue body pattern?
And one more thing. I've heard somewhere that there are special straighteners for flies that make it easier to spread their legs, but I've never seen them. What are they and what do they look like?

You can try to spread them upside down, as they do with straight-winged birds, etc. Professional dipterologists usually do not spread them, or even store them in alcohol.

Can you tell me if there are any nuances of soaking goliaths? I have one instance of orientalis after soaking changed color-the elytra from white became slightly bluish. Is this zazhirivanie? Is there any way to return the color? Now I have also received a batch of goliaths of various types, I would not like to spoil them.
https://radikal.host/i/JG8ZUz

This post was edited by Stan83 - 10.03.2023 14: 23

Goliaths are covered with wax, so you can't put them in alcohol, gasoline, etc., and you probably shouldn't put them in water. So a cotton pad and desiccator are our everything. Considering the expected duration of the process for such a hefty and smelly carcass, the addition of a fugngicide (for example, phenol) is mandatory. Return - unlikely.