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    Preservation of Wet Specimens

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    babu g
    Specimens are preserved for taxonomic study, detailed examination, and morphological study since researchers cannot have every animal nearby. Specimens are killed, fixed, and stored. Invertebrates are often preserved in ethyl alcohol at 80% concentration. Arthropods can be directly placed in alcohol since they are easily killed and do not require relaxing. Larger arthropods may need formalin injection. Pinning positions insects properly and sets wings as needed for identification. Proper drying techniques are outlined for different orders. Crowding living specimens or damaging features after preservation should be avoided.

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    Preservation of Wet Specimens

    Uploaded by

    babu g
    11 views16 pages
    Specimens are preserved for taxonomic study, detailed examination, and morphological study since researchers cannot have every animal nearby. Specimens are killed, fixed, and stored. Invertebrates are often preserved in ethyl alcohol at 80% concentration. Arthropods can be directly placed in alcohol since they are easily killed and do not require relaxing. Larger arthropods may need formalin injection. Pinning positions insects properly and sets wings as needed for identification. Proper drying techniques are outlined for different orders. Crowding living specimens or damaging features after preservation should be avoided.

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    PRESERVATION OF WET SPECIMENS

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    Specimens are preserved for taxonomic study, detailed examination, and morphological study since researchers cannot have every animal nearby. Specimens are killed, fixed, and stored. Invertebrates are often preserved in ethyl alcohol at 80% concentration. Arthropods can be directly placed in alcohol since they are easily killed and do not require relaxing. Larger arthropods may need formalin injection. Pinning positions insects properly and sets wings as needed for identification. Proper drying techniques are outlined for different orders. Crowding living specimens or damaging features after preservation should be avoided.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    11 views16 pages

    Preservation of Wet Specimens

    Uploaded by

    babu g
    Specimens are preserved for taxonomic study, detailed examination, and morphological study since researchers cannot have every animal nearby. Specimens are killed, fixed, and stored. Invertebrates are often preserved in ethyl alcohol at 80% concentration. Arthropods can be directly placed in alcohol since they are easily killed and do not require relaxing. Larger arthropods may need formalin injection. Pinning positions insects properly and sets wings as needed for identification. Proper drying techniques are outlined for different orders. Crowding living specimens or damaging features after preservation should be avoided.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 16

    Why specimens are preserved?

    • Taxonomic reasons.
    • Detailed examination.
    • Morphological study of particular animal as each
    and every animal can’t be in researcher’s vicinity.
    • Zoological museum collection.
    STEPS FOR SPECIMEN PRESERVATION

    •Killing and relaxing


    • Fixation
    • Storage
    Ethyl alcohol (for invertebrates)
    • The better solution for long term storage of invertebrate specimens
    is in an 80% solution of ethyl alcohol.
    • Ethyl alcohol can be found in the painting supplies. It is labeled
    as “denatured alcohol”.
    INVERTEBRATE SPECIMEN
    PRESERVATION
    • The easiest way to preserve these animal is to use alcohol.
    • One should be aware of which kind of alcohol they are using as
    each animal requires a different concentration for preservation.
    • Most invertebrates, however, will be kept in bottles, and sets of
    tubes or jars for preservation.
    Arthropods
    • Easy to process as killed immediately and stored in alcohol.
    •The larger arthropods (especially those with hard exoskeleton)
    sometimes need to be injected with 10% formalin to prevent from
    rotting.
    • Industrial alcohol is used for most arthropods. Insects, crustaceans
    and arachnids can be simply dropped into alcohol for immediately
    preservation.
    • It is usually not needed to relax arthropods for liquid preservation.
    Pin Placement

    Large insects are pinned using number 3 pins which are


    inserted through the upper body surface.
     The pin is positioned at right angles to the body.
     Only a quarter of the pin's length should remain above the
    insect.
    The positioning of the pin depends on the type of insect:
    Beetles (Order Coleoptera)
    pin through right elytra.

    Bugs (Order Hemiptera)


    •pin through the center of scutellum, the triangular shaped structure in the
    center of the upper surface of wings.
    Butterflies and moths (Order Lepidoptera)
    •pin through the center of the thorax between the wings. The wings are
    displayed on both sides of the body.
    All other Orders
    • pin through the thorax to the right of center.
    • Pinning down the center of the insect is usually avoided because you
    might destroy useful identification features.
    • Inserting the pin off to one side may also destroy useful features, but
    they will still be visible on the other side.
    Setting wings
    1. Dragonflies and Damselflies (Order Odonata) and Wasps
    and Bees (Order Hymenoptera)
    Both pairs of wings are set.

    2. With dragonflies and damselfies (Order Odonata), move the


    front edges of the hind wings so that they are at right angles to
    the body; set the fore wings just a little in front of the hind
    wings.
    Flies (Order Diptera)

     have only one pair of wings


     set wings with the front edges at 45° to the body.
    How to pin and set a butterfly

    Push the pin through the centre of the thorax and into the
    setting board until the underside of the wings rest on top of the
    board.
    Pin strips of tracing paper at the top edge of the board, one
    strip over each wing.
    Move the fore wing so the back edge it is at right angles to the
    body.
    Tuck the front edge of the hind wing under the fore wing
    leaving a small V.
    With the wings in position, pull each paper strip tight and pin
    around the edges of the wing, not through them.
    The abdomen is supported with a V of pins.
    Dry Preservation (Pinning)
    Grasshoppers and crickets (Order) Orthoptera

    Use the same procedure as for butterflies, but move the hind
    wing so that it is at right angles to the body.
    Set the fore wings so that they are just a little in front of the
    hind wings.
    Set the large hind legs of grasshoppers in a jumping
    position, using pins to hold the leg. Specimens will take from
    one to three weeks to dry, depending on their size.
    PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
    • Do not crowd living animals in small containers, this will results
    in damage to their appendages.
    • Features important in the taxonomic study of insects, are easily
    damaged with contact even after preservation.

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