What is the best chemical to preserve dead insect? Could someone help me with this?
For wet preservations, we usually use 70% ethanol, and put them in a vial. I’ve got insects that have been in alcohol for decades, and they’re fine. Formalin or higher percentage alcohol (we usually buy it at 90% and dilute it) usually discolours the specimen. However it works better on large specimens. If you’re pinning the specimens, for most insects just putting them on a pin is fine. The tissues dry out and turn to dust, but the exoskeleton of the insect remains intact. As mentioned above, this doesn’t work for soft-bodied critters like caterpillars, maggots or most larvae, but works just fine for adults. I’ve got boxes of mosquitoes pinned in the 80’s that still look fine. If you’re pinning a large insect, such as a giant water bug, sphinx moth or something, you may need to open the abdomen and remove the tissue yourself otherwise it will rot and may grow mold.
