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Post by megaloblatta on Sept 17, 2021 10:18:24 GMT
Interesting that very good results were obtained using a 50:50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and water. I wonder if this is a more effective cleaner than 100% isopropyl? Perhaps the water is helping to dissolve certain compounds?
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Post by exoticimports on Sept 17, 2021 12:24:05 GMT
I cannot answer your question, but John Hyatt may, since he's the PhD.
WARNING! I have a post somewhere on Insectnet.com about a South American saturnid (that's a moth) that was greasy. I dropped it into this 50% alcohol solution and it INSTANTLY fell apart. So be careful. Why did it fall apart? It was a wild-caught specimen from the jungle, so I suspect that the insides had rotted while two weeks in the jungle. Following the field work, it relaxed and set fine, and it had been set for over 20 years until I dropped it into the alcohol solution. So I think there wasn't much holding it together, and the sudden water infusion destroyed whatever little muscle was still inside.
As previously noted, a 50% solution will quickly soften Leps, so they will have to be re-set. Will a 75% or 90% solution degrease without relaxing? I don't know. Will it be as effective as the 50% solution? I don't know, since I don't know what factors come into play- perhaps the high water content of 50% degreases faster than 90% for some reason? It's an easy enough experiment for those with large Coleoptera. It would make a good paper for those wishing to be published.
Chuck
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