Taxacom: Questions for insect collection people

[John Noyes]

Hi Doug,.

For once you and I agree!

John 

-----Original Message-----
From: Douglas Yanega via Taxacom <taxacom at lists.ku.edu> 
Sent: 07 January 2025 17:04
To: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
Subject: Re: Taxacom: Questions for insect collection people

On 1/7/25 8:19 AM, Mary Barkworth via Taxacom wrote:
> If ethanol is not legally available for either killing or storing insects, what is the best alternative? Two that have been suggested are hand sanitizer (70% alcohol plus other compounds) and isopropyl alcohol. Are there other alternatives? Any comments would be welcome. Both legal availability and cost will factor into the final decision but, before looking into those, what would be the best alternative to ethanol, assuming it is legally available in Somaliland, the country where we are working?

There is one liquid that is preferred by entomologists for collecting
abroad: propylene glycol.

It is a non-toxic and non-flammable food additive, preserves DNA better than ethanol, evaporates more slowly than water, and it is not prohibited or controlled in any way. It is commonly sold as a feed additive for consumption by livestock, and therefore not generally difficult to find in foreign countries, and inexpensive ($30 US per gallon or less).

Just one example:

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuk01.l.antigena.com%2Fl%2FRVcnx2yhzjBcdgiQEDZQ8-_-l0nhlBRVoRVqiAnIUExNZKkfgdavFQ1bvdlw7nHjlSaVVD6mK-FRRulfD61FZSMc4EMH15sneBjWPveNGM06Vu5XiDQb_7qi27mbSR4BwC7JSXT-Cq0gG8T1PBelUSer9UeZnfgv0tL4Av4CVwKZp2oU4Hb0XLfXQr~-AHCoQa8Zzxej7VRxzYGVQKkk8i5e-a_8Elcg8zcKlfWml0g64Nn4_Y0Hpxv-~9l4spcNcGPEB0cjSabg&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7C09c49ca7640b4be88d6d08dd2f40a4d0%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638718676896858538%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=apCHOk7wc6Cgaaq8jQ%2FndoTg3VSQJJgtSjLdp4JBg48%3D&reserved=0  


I expect that there are farmers/ranchers in Somaliland who use it, and the stores where they buy it shouldn't be hard to track down.

It is cheap, safe, and the *food-grade PG formulations* are great for insect preservation. All you need to do to prepare the insects from it for pinning is rinse with 95% ethanol and then dry them.

We have a giant bucket full of it, and use it routinely for malaise traps, berlese funnels, and pitfall traps, and for international shipping. It can be sent in the mail without any restrictions.

Peace,

-- 
Doug Yanega      Dept. of Entomology       Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314  voicemail:951-827-8704
FaceBook: Doug Yanega (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
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