Specimen processing

by Robert Wharton
Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas


In ICHNEWS 12 (pp. 6-7), Sharkey suggests that chloroform is better than amyl acetate for taking ichneumonids out of alcohol. This has not been our experience, and we prefer the amyl acetate. Choloroform may be more toxic. In either case, specimens taken through freshly prepared solutions tend to be much more pliable than specimens taken through older solutions.

We have noted several problems associated with samples stored in alcohol. Some samples, when dried, are coated with a fine, wax-like substance. This occurs both when samples are taken through a critical point drier or amyl acetate. Samples which are air-dried directly from 95% ethanol seem to be more heavily coated. A number of people have offered suggestions as to what causes this, but does anyone really know? Similarly, what makes alcohol go cloudy and form a precipitate when alcohols from two different sources are added together? [Editor: And does a dog have the Buddha- nature?] We seem to be able to produce this result under a variety of circumstances using only ethanol but never consistently enough to identify the source of the problem.


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