Storage of Preserved Insect Specimens

Abstract

Several methods of storing insect specimens in liquid preservatives have been used at the Forest Biology Laboratory at Victoria, all of them unsatisfactory to a varying degree. The method described herein was devised by the author and has proved successful during the past year.Homeopathic vials approximately 62 mm. overall outside length × 15 mm. greatest outside diameter × 11 mm. inside neck measurement, with 000 rubber stoppers, are the most suitable size for insect specimens. The different stages of nearly any of the species of insects encountered by the Forest Insect Survey can be easily accommodated in a single vial of this size. Small shell vials may be used for double mounts when tiny insects are involved which might otherwise be lost in the larger vials. For material too large for the 11 mm. neck of the homeopathic vial, shell vials 65 mm. × 15 mm. can be used with serum sleeve-type stoppers. All but mass collections and a few of the larvae can be preserved in these sizes. Both types of rubber stoppers are satisfactory, although the sleeve type requires more effort to put on and seal, and also conceals the top of the vial. Air bubbles can be removed from the latter by inserting a hypodermic needle through the top of the stopper.