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Post by rozema on Mar 30, 2018 12:43:54 GMT
Hello,
How long can I store dried butterflies before relaxing and mounting them?
Thank you
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Post by deliasfanatic on Mar 30, 2018 13:14:16 GMT
Basically forever, as long as you keep a proper type of pesticide stored with them to kill dermestids and other insects that would eat them.
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Post by Paul K on Mar 30, 2018 14:47:42 GMT
And as long as they stay dried, if humidity rises above 65% chances are high that Mold will destroy specimens.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 30, 2018 15:10:44 GMT
It's always best to store them in airtight boxes, but even then it is possible that pests and humidity can get inside, as sometimes they are not really 100% airtight.
Adam.
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Post by jmg on Mar 30, 2018 17:42:34 GMT
And what do you think of freezer storage (minus 18 ° Celsius)? This prevents attacks of insects and molds. What would be the disadvantages?
For example, in Guyane, one of the main local collectors uses this process (in a country where the air humidity rate is more than 65%).
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Post by Paul K on Mar 30, 2018 18:12:16 GMT
Yes! This is the safest way ( of course if one has separate freezer, other wise it’s not so safe: besides dermestids and mold there is another creature which may cause damage from time to time, common name is “wife” 😱)
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Post by rozema on Mar 30, 2018 18:40:45 GMT
It's always best to store them in airtight boxes, but even then it is possible that pests and humidity can get inside, as sometimes they are not really 100% airtight. Adam. Then you don't know Tupperware  And my wife would freak out if she found butterflies in the freezer (or anywhere else except the attic. Thanks everybody! |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 30, 2018 19:17:57 GMT
Then you don't know Tupperware Actually I do, but even that's not always 100% airtight. You would be surprised. As for freezing it does indeed keep out pests, but there can be other problems associated with freezing, especially in older freezers - if they partially defrost at intervals ice crystals can build up inside the box (even an 'airtight' one) and cause serious problems to the scales on the wings. Adam. |
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Post by deliasfanatic on Mar 30, 2018 19:30:35 GMT
I store everything in Tupperware-style bins, each with a supply of Vapona (no pest strip). Some have been there 30+ years (never enough time for setting!) and I've never found an insect pest in one. No problem to work with old specimens; they're basically the same whether they've been dried for 2 months or 50 years. A couple of years ago, I set a group of Battus that had rubber-stamped data from Banos, Ecuador, 1926; all are now pinned in my collection and look great.
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Post by deliasfanatic on Mar 30, 2018 21:06:46 GMT
I thought I'd taken a photo of the Battus specimens (B. ingenuus) while still in their envelopes. I can't find it now, but here's the group after setting. All are nearly 92 years old and none the worse for their age.  battus ingenuus set by D B, on Flickr |
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Post by jmg on Mar 30, 2018 23:37:15 GMT
A classic problem, at least in my personal experience, when collecting in a humid tropical country is the following. If you place the wrappers in a tightly sealed tupperware, there is a great risk of having a mold attack. In a box of another type (like cigar box), another risk often manifests itself, that of an attack of ants. This has happened to me at least twice, one in Zanzibar, the other in Bali. It is therefore necessary to regularly check the paper bags. That's why the freezer solution is handy. Especially if the insects are placed there shortly after capture, they can be spread just after the thaw, without going through the humidifier stage. As for the wife's question, it is indeed a difficult question. Unless, to get her interested in entomology. What is long-term work. However, as far as mine is concerned, the process was quite fast. Soon she stopped screaming at the sight of a big mygal or tarantula in front of the bungalow (in Belize)  , got used to looking under the bed before going to sleep (Central America) and better to sleep in hammock (Guyane)  . To the point that lately I had to remind him of some rules of caution in the Amazon rainforest.  I must, however, agree that the question of filling the freezer was the most delicate.  |
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Post by rozema on Apr 4, 2018 8:00:22 GMT
Then you don't know Tupperware Actually I do, but even that's not always 100% airtight. You would be surprised. As for freezing it does indeed keep out pests, but there can be other problems associated with freezing, especially in older freezers - if they partially defrost at intervals ice crystals can build up inside the box (even an 'airtight' one) and cause serious problems to the scales on the wings. Adam. I was joking off course. They always advertise to be the best air tight Thank you al for your great help. And wow the collection is beautiful! 92 years old?!?!?! |
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, got used to looking under the bed before going to sleep (Central America) and better to sleep in hammock (Guyane) 
. To the point that lately I had to remind him of some rules of caution in the Amazon rainforest. 
