Freezing Lepidoptera

I have done this a lot of times. Very useful. But some Lycaenidae stayed stiff after a long time in the freezer (some months I think).

Hi Steve,

Like you I always used to paper my specimens in the field, store them in air-tight Tupperware containers, let them air-dry and relax them when I found time to set them. I too heard about freezing freshly caught specimens and, having tried it, now ALWAYS use this method. I find freezing my specimens keeps them very fresh and, once thawed, they are as supple as the moment they were caught.

When out collecting now I only have to take my net and a supply of glassine envelopes. All specimens are "pinched" in the field and papered before being put into an air-tight Tupperware box that I then place in the freezer. When I'm ready to do some setting it's a simple case of selecting however many specimens I want to set and letting them defrost before setting. As I've already said, every time I've done this (and it must be several thousand specimens by now), once the specimen has defrosted it's been as fresh as the moment it was caught.

Whenever I have access to a freezer I use this method for storage - right now I have probably around a thousand papered specimens in Tupperware containers at room temperature and somewhere near double this in the freezer. I can guarantee that I'll get round to setting the frozen specimens before the air dried specimens simply because it is so much easier. The longest I've had a specimen frozen before setting is probably around 18 months and even after this length of time the specimen was easy to set (and required no relaxing) once defrosted. I know that others recommend a shorter freezing time before setting but I've never experienced any problems with specimens stored in this way longer.

The real advantage of this as a storage method that I like is that I don't have to go to the trouble of relaxing the specimen before setting; I know that I can go to the freezer, select "x" number of specimens, let them thaw and get straight to work on them!

The ONLY problem I have ever experienced with the freezing method is a slightly irate wife after she's found out that I've managed to cram another box of specimens into the freezer

Simon

If your tupperware boxes really are airtight and are full of specimens there will be less drying out over time than if the box is half empty or is not completely sealed.

Adam.

I freeze everything. I am told that many leps have internal parasites that will eat your specimens from the inside out. Freezing for at least a week will kill these in addition to any fungus and mold spores they may have picked up. If you store them as mentioned by other members in a air tight container they will be fine for a very long time. I am still spreading specimens that I caught last summer and after they are out of the freezer for ten or fifteen minutes they are just flexible as when fresh caught.

Hello all,

I, too have been freezing all my insect specimens (all leps, beetles, flies, wasps, grasshoppers, etc.) since about the early '90's. In my case each individual specimen is kept separately in mini Ziplok bags (1" square to 4" square) which are placed inside larger normal Ziploks which are then placed inside Tupperware containers). Most larger specimens can be mounted up with few difficulties up to 2 yrs. later. Older specimens should be placed in a relaxing container overnight as some freeze drying does occur. I have continuously frozen specimens almost 20 yrs. old which are still quite supple when unthawed, but definitely need some relaxing. I have a separate deep freeze just for my bugs... I collect b-flies into the mini Ziploks & pinch them slightly just to settle them down & then pop them into my freezer in my camper & then into the big deep freeze when I get home. Moths are put into killing jars just long enough to quiet them down & then transferred to the mini Ziploks & then into the freezers.

The price of small glassine envelopes has skyrocketed in recent yrs., whereas the price of mini Ziploks is very inexpensive... you can buy 5-10,000 1.5"x 2" mini Ziploks (good size most frequently used) for under $100.00 USD, shipping included. They are available in the craft dept. in most Walmarts. I get mine, by mail, from numerous companies in the U.S. (all come from China anyways...). When collecting on long foreign trips requiring air travel I resort back to the old glassine envelopes. I would never go back to using glassines for local collecting. One problem is what do the relatives do when I kick off with a deep freeze full of frozen bugs?... a treasure trove to us bug guys, but a nightmare to them... haha

John K.