[Odonata-l] managing a small ode collection?

[Ethan Bright]

Bob Glotzhober wrote:
> Ken Tennessen ...told me that in field, dip the exuvia in water briefly so it does not break brittle legs etc, and then use film canisters. Later transfer to whatever bottle size is good for you and replace the water with ethanol. My practice is to always drain off the ethanol after a few days and add fresh, so that any water still on the exuvia gets thrown out with the first ethanol, and the final solution is full strength.
>
> I have preserved some exuvia dry in an Odonate envelope with the adult, (or in a separate, attached envelope), cushioning the edges with a small plastic bubble or other soft but firm fill that keeps it from getting crushed. I think Carl Cook showed me that trick.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: odonata-l-bounces at listhost.ups.edu
> Subject: [Odonata-l] managing a small ode collection?
>
> ...How do people store exuviae?  Jars?  Envelopes?  Dry or wet?  A dry Gomphus exilis exuvia will fit in a small "shell vial," but there's no squashing a Macromia into anything small.
> Christopher E. Hil
Bob's (via Ken) advice is pretty good, except that I'd advise that when 
filling containers/vials with a fluid, I find it best to fill the 
container all the way to the top to avoid (or minimize as much as 
possible) air pockets. I find that the bubble in the vial can disturb 
fragile features of exuviae (or nymphs), especially zygopteran caudal 
lamellae, when the container is moved.

Several advantages of preserving exuviae in fluid: 1) They're more 
supple when you're manipulating them with forceps under the microscope, 
whereas dry exuviae are very fragile and frequently break; and 2) It's 
easier to clean (using fine hair brushes) off particulates from the 
exuviae when it's wet (particulates always seem to obscure lateral 
abdominal spines, especially the burrowing and sprawling taxa).

Cheers, Ethan