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Post by o0osteve on Feb 26, 2014 9:52:11 GMT -8
Has anyone ever frozen there fresh caught Leps ??
I`ve been lots of collecting trips and have just papered my specimens to be relaxed when i get back home only to destroy a prized specimen when trying to set it.
I have heard of people freezing there Leps and they have stayed in good condition for months if stored in the right way.
Steve
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Post by simosg on Feb 26, 2014 12:10:41 GMT -8
I have done this a lot of times. Very useful. But some Lycaenidae stayed stiff after a long time in the freezer (some months I think).
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 26, 2014 12:21:58 GMT -8
Freezing does gradually dehydrate specimens, so it is often a good idea to put them in the relaxing box for a while before trying to set them, especially if they have been frozen for some time.
Adam.
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Post by dertodesking on Feb 26, 2014 12:29:43 GMT -8
Has anyone ever frozen there fresh caught Leps ?? I`ve been lots of collecting trips and have just papered my specimens to be relaxed when i get back home only to destroy a prized specimen when trying to set it. I have heard of people freezing there Leps and they have stayed in good condition for months if stored in the right way. Steve Hi Steve, Like you I always used to paper my specimens in the field, store them in air-tight Tupperware containers, let them air-dry and relax them when I found time to set them. I too heard about freezing freshly caught specimens and, having tried it, now ALWAYS use this method. I find freezing my specimens keeps them very fresh and, once thawed, they are as supple as the moment they were caught. When out collecting now I only have to take my net and a supply of glassine envelopes. All specimens are "pinched" in the field and papered before being put into an air-tight Tupperware box that I then place in the freezer. When I'm ready to do some setting it's a simple case of selecting however many specimens I want to set and letting them defrost before setting. As I've already said, every time I've done this (and it must be several thousand specimens by now), once the specimen has defrosted it's been as fresh as the moment it was caught. Whenever I have access to a freezer I use this method for storage - right now I have probably around a thousand papered specimens in Tupperware containers at room temperature and somewhere near double this in the freezer. I can guarantee that I'll get round to setting the frozen specimens before the air dried specimens simply because it is so much easier. The longest I've had a specimen frozen before setting is probably around 18 months and even after this length of time the specimen was easy to set (and required no relaxing) once defrosted. I know that others recommend a shorter freezing time before setting but I've never experienced any problems with specimens stored in this way longer. The real advantage of this as a storage method that I like is that I don't have to go to the trouble of relaxing the specimen before setting; I know that I can go to the freezer, select "x" number of specimens, let them thaw and get straight to work on them! The ONLY problem I have ever experienced with the freezing method is a slightly irate wife after she's found out that I've managed to cram another box of specimens into the freezer  Simon |
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Post by dertodesking on Feb 26, 2014 12:42:28 GMT -8
Freezing does gradually dehydrate specimens, so it is often a good idea to put them in the relaxing box for a while before trying to set them, especially if they have been frozen for some time. Adam. Adam, That's interesting. I'm aware that by it's very nature the freezing process dehydrates whatever is being frozen (hence the recommended maximum freezing periods for foodstuffs) but even after storing specimens for around eighteen months I have NEVER had any problems once they have thawed, nor have I ever had to resort to relaxing a specimen previously frozen. I wonder what else could influence this? Simon |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 26, 2014 13:48:40 GMT -8
If your tupperware boxes really are airtight and are full of specimens there will be less drying out over time than if the box is half empty or is not completely sealed.
Adam.
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Post by davemoore on Feb 26, 2014 14:18:58 GMT -8
Hi
I can't disagree with simon or Adam
I have frozen all specimens for the past 10 years that I have not set immediately, assuming I had a freezer available.
Hey are killed in the normal way, either with ethyl acetate or KCN, immediately put into glassine envelopes, then into ziplock plastic bags, then in the freezer.
When away from home I store the bags in Tupperware, then store them in my own little freezer (- the Tupperware) once home.
I doe find that the freezer will, in time, freeze dry the bugs with ice accumulation on the inside of the plastic bags; however, this is always sorted by placing the specimens I want to set the following day in the relaxing box the night before.
Have just set with no problem, some small moths I caught 5 years ago.
Hope above of help
Dave
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2014 17:19:09 GMT -8
I freeze everything. I am told that many leps have internal parasites that will eat your specimens from the inside out. Freezing for at least a week will kill these in addition to any fungus and mold spores they may have picked up. If you store them as mentioned by other members in a air tight container they will be fine for a very long time. I am still spreading specimens that I caught last summer and after they are out of the freezer for ten or fifteen minutes they are just flexible as when fresh caught.
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Post by mantisboy on Feb 26, 2014 19:10:41 GMT -8
[/quote] The ONLY problem I have ever experienced with the freezing method is a slightly irate wife after she's found out that I've managed to cram another box of specimens into the freezer [/quote] I had this same problem with my parents. It was even worse for live cocoons that i put in the refrigerator for the winter! A few years ago they solved this by getting me my own freezer/refrigerator and things have been good ever since!  |
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Post by boghaunter1 on Feb 27, 2014 7:13:38 GMT -8
Hello all,
I, too have been freezing all my insect specimens (all leps, beetles, flies, wasps, grasshoppers, etc.) since about the early '90's. In my case each individual specimen is kept separately in mini Ziplok bags (1" square to 4" square) which are placed inside larger normal Ziploks which are then placed inside Tupperware containers). Most larger specimens can be mounted up with few difficulties up to 2 yrs. later. Older specimens should be placed in a relaxing container overnight as some freeze drying does occur. I have continuously frozen specimens almost 20 yrs. old which are still quite supple when unthawed, but definitely need some relaxing. I have a separate deep freeze just for my bugs... I collect b-flies into the mini Ziploks & pinch them slightly just to settle them down & then pop them into my freezer in my camper & then into the big deep freeze when I get home. Moths are put into killing jars just long enough to quiet them down & then transferred to the mini Ziploks & then into the freezers.
The price of small glassine envelopes has skyrocketed in recent yrs., whereas the price of mini Ziploks is very inexpensive... you can buy 5-10,000 1.5"x 2" mini Ziploks (good size most frequently used) for under $100.00 USD, shipping included. They are available in the craft dept. in most Walmarts. I get mine, by mail, from numerous companies in the U.S. (all come from China anyways...). When collecting on long foreign trips requiring air travel I resort back to the old glassine envelopes. I would never go back to using glassines for local collecting. One problem is what do the relatives do when I kick off with a deep freeze full of frozen bugs?... a treasure trove to us bug guys, but a nightmare to them... haha
John K.
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Post by o0osteve on Feb 27, 2014 8:00:01 GMT -8
Thanks everybody for there help..
Just need some thermos freezer Boards for the return flight to blighty.
Steve
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