[Nhcoll-l] Un-Blown Eggs in Collection

[Hawks, Catharine]

Hi Ingrid

Unblown eggs probably do not represent a real pest risk, given the attractive matter is on the interior. The grease on the exterior is unsaturated fats (otherwise they would not have migrated out). These can be removed by wiping the exterior with 95% undenatured ethanol.

I doubt that the broken eggs exploded – it seems much more likely to have been the result of pre-collection predator damage or post collection mechanical damage.  Either way, ethanol would dry the contents to make it less attractive to insects.  If these will not be display, avoid the treatment and simply put them in closed containers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if the broken eggs have never attracted pests in the past, there may be a reason for that – i.e., they may have been treated with something that leaves a long-lived residue. Handle with care.

Cathy

From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Ingrid Rochon
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2014 7:07 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Un-Blown Eggs in Collection

Hello all,

We are currently re-housing our egg and nest collection in preparation for a move to a new storage facility, and have encountered quite a few sets of un-blown eggs - these have no holes, are heavy with dried yolk matter, and have a greasy, tacky surface.  Amazingly, after 50 years or more in storage, they haven't exploded!  We also have several broken eggs with dried, greasy yolk matter adherent to the eggshell.

Ideally we would like to clean these specimens and remove excess grease and organic manner that will be attractive to pests... but we're not sure what the best treatment might be, and our literature search hasn't turned up many similar cases to ours.

Does anyone know of a way to clean and salvage un-blown eggs?  Any advice would be appreciated.

Best,

Ingrid Rochon and Janet Gillette

Ingrid Rochon
Collections Intern/GWU Graduate Student
Museum of Northern Arizona
ingrid.rochon at gmail.com<mailto:ingrid.rochon at gmail.com>

Janet Whitmore Gillette
Natural Science Collections Manager
Museum of Northern Arizona
3101 N. Fort Valley Road
Flagstaff, AZ  86001
(928) 774-5211<tel:%28928%29%20774-5211> ext. 265
jgillette at mna.mus.az.us<mailto:jgillette at mna.mus.az.us>
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