degreasing

[Mark Walker]

The most serious case of the phenomenon described by Richard Worth that I
have seen occurred on a very large Pierid I caught in Rishikesh, Uttar
Pradesh, India in 2000.  I relax with only water, so Stan's suggestion
wouldn't apply.  The bug was big and white - with black stripes and a slight
bluish tint.  I thought I had spilled ink on the wings at first - the
blue-green staining ran like water colors.  There was significant
condensation in the relaxer, and it was little drops of water that were the
culprits.  I hadn't seen this before - at least not to this extent.  It was
almost as if the bug was painted, and I was ruining the masterpiece with
exposure to water.

I have no idea what chemical is responsible, but the secret is clearly
keeping the specimen away from condensation.

Mark Walker.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Stan Gorodenski [mailto:stanlep at extremezone.com]
> Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 10:42 AM
> To: leps-l at lists.yale.edu
> Subject: Re: degreasing
> 
> 
> 
> Richard Worth wrote:
> > 
> > Hey group,
> > Speaking of green coloration, does anyone know what that blue-green
> > staining is that you sometimes get on Pierids when you try to relax
> > them?  I've seen it in both those that were relaxed in glassine
> > envelopes and those not.  I originally thought it was something in
> > the envelopes but maybe not.  I never see it until relaxing begins.
> > Is there a remedy?
> > Cheers,  Rich
> > 
> 
> This is just a thought.  If this is something that occurs uniquely to
> certain groups, Pierids, it indicates a chemical difference from other
> butterfly groups.  Maybe the chemical(s) that this group possess (that
> other butterfly groups don't have) react with the fungicide in the
> relaxer, resulting in a compound that gives the blue-green 
> color. Change
> the fungicide?  I use PDB, but have not relaxed enough 
> pierids to notice
> whether I get a blue-green color.
> Stan
> 
>  
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