Thread subject: Diptera.info :: New trip
#1
jorgemotalmeida wrote:
Kahis wrote:
Money.
Paul Beuk wrote:
at chance here.
Is it really possible to get money doing articles for diptera.info??
Should have read:
Fat chance here.
#2
caliprobola wrote:
You can get that in the grocery shop around the corner. At least, that is where I get mine.
but Paul lives in the Netherlands you know, that's where all the Belgians get their usual stuff too
I guess that tells us more about you than about me.
#3
... i get my kicks out of flies nowadays
Posted by
Tony T on 03-08-2007 03:20
#4
Kahis wrote:
As a quick&dirty alternative I have used a acetone bath. Specimens are removed from alcohol, pinned while wet, and then immersed in acetone overnight. The time isn't critical, a few hours is enough for small species and times up to several days cause little apparent harm. Later the flies are removed from the acetone.
Read the rest of Kahis's comments.
Acetone is the standard way to preserve Odonates and also to 'freshen up' just about any insect. It is extensively used for degreasing Lepidoptera. I wrote a short article on such degreasing and am including 2 of the figures here to illustrate part of the method. 1] Obtain a polyethylene dish just deep enough to accommodate an insect pin; 2] Make a hole in the top to hold a wine bottle cork; 3] Pin the fly into the cork (Fig 3); Fill the dish with enough acetone that it just covers the fly when the lid is placed on the container (Fig. 4).
For flies one could use many smaller corks in the lid and thus 'freshen up' many flies at once.
#5
I recently (yesterday) got my hands on a small number of flies from a water trap that I immediately put into alcohol. With such a short immersion time in alcohol, could I get away with pinning them soon without any of the treatments described above?
Posted by
ChrisR on 21-04-2008 00:47
#6
I'd guess so - it usually takes a while (a week?) before the alcohol completely drives out the water from the specimens. I used to get quite good results if I pinned after just 3 days in alcohol but leave them in for weeks/months more and you have more shrivelling. But you'll only know for sure if you try one
#7
I've had to work with lots of flies from water traps recently and found that if I manipulate them into a decent posture while hydrated, transfer them to 90% isopropanol for a while (a day or so dries 'em out pretty well), let them air dry, and mount them on points or with adhesive to the side of a pin, I end up with usable specimens.
Though I admit: dusting and aspect /posture of fine hairs isn't important for my taxa.
The whole process is actually faster per specimen that pinning freshly collected flies. And gluing them to a pin makes them smaller in a drawer.
#8
Thanks Chris and Steve. They seem to have pinned out rather well, and while I haven't looked at them properly yet the dusting doesn't seem to have come out of it too badly after such a short immersion in alcohol. A pleasant surprise!