[Nhcoll-l] freezing blown eggs

Fri May 21 13:16:48 EDT 2021

Let me second Mariana’s, and other statements made in this thread.

Use plastic bags or sheeting to protect your specimens from condensation. Seal the plastic using zip-lock bag, tape, or whatever method you choose. If at all possible, use double layers of plastic.  According to Tom Strang’s research a double layer of plastic will significantly reduce drastic changes in the equal moisture content in the specimen or object.  Allow a minimum of 24 hours after freezing to allow for thawing.

For objects that cannot be frozen – start with close examination and isolation.  Determine if there is evidence of an infestation, past or present.  Determine if it is active.  Isolate and clean them before moving.

Any questions – check out MuseumPest.Net   https://museumpests.net/solutions/ .  This is a great resource.

Good luck -
Gretchen

Gretchen Anderson
Conservator
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
5800 Baum Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Andersong at CarnegieMNH.org<mailto:Andersong at CarnegieMNH.org>
(412)665-2607

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Mariana Di Giacomo
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2021 12:30 PM
To: Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>
Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] freezing blown eggs

Hi Tonya,

I just want to echo what everyone is saying: freezing good, condensation bad. So if you freeze them with plastic bags or any other plastic protection, then the condensation will occur on the protection and not the eggs. This is a general rule for freezing always. Don't put the objects/specimens directly into the freezer, enclose them first. And when they come out, don't take them out of the enclosures right away, wait 24 hours and let them acclimate.

About other materials you shouldn't freeze, there are some that could get severely damaged by freezing such as bark paintings, glass negatives (and most glass), fluid specimens, paintings and many other works of art or historic materials you may have in your collection besides specimens. If you have any particular questions, don't hesitate to ask. I know you're trying to move into this new, clean facility and avoid bringing anything with you, but it is important to think that this risk can get mitigated but not completely eradicated, so monitoring post move is always a good idea, so you can treat specific problems that may arise.

Best,
Mariana

Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD
Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum
Associate Editor, Collection Forum, SPNHC
Secretary/Communications APOYOnline

El mié, 12 may 2021 a las 18:52, Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) (<Tonya.Haff at csiro.au<mailto:Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>>) escribió:
Thanks everyone for your responses to this question. It’s an interesting point about the potential for some of the writing on the eggs to be water soluble. In such a case is something like anoxia or high CO2 not preferable to freezing? And yes I guess I do know that the insides of eggs can be delicious to things like carpet beetle, and indeed I have seen some old evidence of such in our collection. We have 20k+ clutches going on 40k, and we are going to move to a new building in a few years. In light of that I would like the most practical solution that minimises risk to the egg collection but still ensures we aren’t accidentally bringing a pest problem with us. But it sounds like the consensus is that freezing would be ok, so long as we make sure everything is well sealed in plastic first?

As a follow on to this, are there any other types of collections (other than slides and fluids) that people absolutely don’t freeze?

Thanks!

Tonya

From: Thomas Labedz <tlabedz1 at unl.edu<mailto:tlabedz1 at unl.edu>>
Sent: Wednesday, 12 May 2021 10:58 PM
To: Rogers, Steve <RogersS at CarnegieMNH.Org<mailto:RogersS at CarnegieMNH.Org>>; Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au<mailto:Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: RE: freezing blown eggs

Tonya
Agreeing with Stephen I’ve seen insects in egg collections. I agree strongly with freezing in a plastic container such that condensation does not occur directly on the egg when removed from freezer. While having no direct evidence I suspect that some inks used for curatorial markings on eggs might be water soluble or be poorly bound to the egg surface and condensation poses a risk of information loss.
Thomas

Thomas E. Labedz (Mr.), Collections Manager
Division of Zoology and Division of Botany
University of Nebraska State Museum
Morrill Hall
645 North 14th Street
Lincoln, NE 68588-0338

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> On Behalf Of Rogers, Steve
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 6:13 AM
To: Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au<mailto:Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] freezing blown eggs

Non-NU Email
________________________________
Greetings Tonya,

The entire inside lining of the egg is certainly susceptible to being eaten. I blew a series of eggs once and did not put them in my screened in drying cabinet. I ended up getting a few phorid flies find their way through the holes, breeding and multiplying. I have also seen various small beetles inside older eggs in the collection within the genus Anthrenus. The cotton surrounding the egg set showing past infestations.

I would recommend freezing them like you would other dry specimens, inside plastic so no condensation on the specimens happens after bringing them up to room temperature.

Stephen P. Rogers (Mr.)
Collection Manager of Section of Birds
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15213-4080
Phone: 412-622-3255
Email: rogerss at CarnegieMNH.org<mailto:rogerss at CarnegieMNH.org>
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The views, opinions, and judgments expressed in this message
are solely those of the author. The message contents have not
been reviewed or approved by Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>> on behalf of Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace) <Tonya.Haff at csiro.au<mailto:Tonya.Haff at csiro.au>>
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2021 12:35 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu> <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>>
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] freezing blown eggs

Hello all,

I am wondering if any of you have thoughts on freezing egg collections for pest control? I imagine that it is probably ok, but then I wonder if there could be problems to the shell structure. Note I realise that there is not much for museum pests to eat in a blown egg, but there are lots of places for them to hide in and around the their housing. As usual, any thoughts or feedback would be very appreciated!

Cheers,

Tonya

---------------------------------------------------------

Dr Tonya Haff

Collection Manager

Australian National Wildlife Collection

National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO

Canberra, Australia

Phone: (+61) 02 6242 1566 (office)

(+61) 0419 569 109 (mobile)

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