CalleyMcGrane

My awesome, beautiful, and super-smart friend Leslie

frezhmermaidmeat:

i curated a friend’s lepidoptera collection this time last year.

use a stiff bristle acrylic brush and ethyl alcohol (grain alcohol… you can get it at cvs… i know). touch and swipe any mold growth ever so gently on body, same with any cobwebs. for antennae, legs or wings, just a touch of the damp (not wet) brush will remove any mold coloration and kill the infestation.

if you have dermestids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermestidae) there will be a lot more to clean up if there is anything left of your specimen at all (an infestation is indicated through “holes” appearing in the bodies of the specimen; typically wings of the specimen will simply disappear). to kill a dermestid infestation you need to CAREFULLY place your unit a freezer for one week. remove for 48 hours, then return to freezer for 3 days (the removal will spur hatching of any dermestid eggs that may have been left on your little guys, the subsequent freeze will kill them too [sorry dudez]).

if anyone ever has invert or vert curation questions please contact me! i spent a large amount of my undergrad learning the art of zoological museum curation and don’t want the stuff to go to waste.