Preservation

PRESERVATION OF ECTOPARASITES
  • For dry mounting, especially the adult Diptera the insects should be killed in specially designed potassium cyanide bottles or in chloroform
  • After killing, they should be immediately pinned through thorax on to a cork pad with the aid of entomological pins
  • The insects should never be allowed to dry up before pinning
  • They should then be kept in glass tubes or wooden display cases in which a moth ball (napthalene) is placed
  • A few of these insects can be killed and kept in 70% alcohol for making permanent preparations of the mouth parts
  • Other members of the insects and larvae of diptera should invariably be killed and preserved in 70% alcohol or 10% formalin
  • Ticks, to preserve their colour should be killed in a saturated solution of chloroform in 10% formalin
Last modified: Tuesday, 6 July 2010, 4:11 AM