ammonia (was Re: Ethylene dichloride)

[Doug Yanega]

By far the best lep-killing technique I've ever been introduced to 
was using a small syringe (the disposable kind used by diabetics for 
insulin injections) to inject a small amount of ammonia. It takes 
less volume of liquid to kill than ethanol does (dramatically less on 
very large moths), kills faster, and leaves the critter amazingly 
relaxed. Even things like Sphinx moths and skippers, which are often 
very hard to spread, are a breeze when they've been killed with an 
ammonia injection. Of course, I haven't tested to see how long this 
relaxedness lasts - I suppose it couldn't persist once the specimen 
has begun to dry out significantly.

Peace,
-- 

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82

 
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