Re: [ECOLOG-L] Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed

[James Bess]

Hi All,

Ethanol definitely causes shrinkage in invert specimens, particularly 
soft-bodied immatures.  KAAD is a “larval fixative” that causes the body to 
expand (somewhat beyond normal parameters), making them appear “inflated”.  I 
do not know if there is a standard for the percentage of shrinkage/inflation.

Jim

From: Malcolm McCallum 
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2016 9:38 PM
To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU 
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval 
insect when fixed

Soft body parts will have signficant shrinkage.  This has been demonstrated 
conclusively with vertebrates, specifically with larval and juvenile fishes.  
With vertebrates, as they get larger, the signficance of this shrinkage tends 
to be less.  I would expect similar results with inverts, except that there is 
actually a lot more softbody exoskeleton in most inverts than we typically 
consider.  THere should be papers demonstrating shrinkage in invertebrates, 
however, I would be pretty surprised if you find much information on 
larviformes.  My expectation is that larvae are going to have huge amounts of 
shrinkage.   

I would expect adult coleoptera, particularly Scarabidae, Cuculionidae, 
Carabidae, Erotylidae, Coccinelidae, and other typical beetle forms to have 
minimal shrinkage 
Stapholyindae  probably show much more as adults. 
Orthoptera undoubtedly shrink in body length, I would not be surprised if some 
shrink more than 10%.  
Related Mantoidea (I think it is now an Order rather than family), and other 
orthopteran like families will behave similarly. 
Odonates may shrink a ton, Hemiptera are probably variable like Coleoptera, 
ditto for the leafhoppers and cicadas
Hymenoptera and Diptera probably shrink a bit as adults, but some families more 
so than others.  
Larvae and nymphs will probably shrink pretty bad for all groups. 

Crustaceans may not shrink much at all thanks to the calciferous exoskeleton, 
but again this will depend as something like a hermit crab sill show a lot of 
abdominal shrinkage. 

I am sure the invertebrate biologists will know a lot more about this than me.  
These are largely wha

On Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 2:43 PM, Jorge A. Santiago-Blay  
wrote:

  Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed 


  Dear Ecolog-Listers: 


  I have nearly ca. 200 museum specimens of aquatic larval insects (1-3 cm 
long) that I assume were killed by dumping them in (at the minimum) 70% 
ethanol. In the only one case that the label states anything about preservation 
method, it reads "KAAD --> 95%". I assume that several changes in ethanol 70% 
have taken place to refill vials, as needed, in the 48-77 years since the 
specimens have been dead. 




  Question: While the hard body parts will barely change in dimension with 
time, does anyone know how does the softer body parts change in size? Is there 
any variation in size change whether the preservation took place early or late 
in the instar?




  If you have any constructive suggestions, please email me directly at 


  blayjo...@gmail.com



  Apologies for potential duplicate emails.


  Gratefully,


  Jorge

  Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD
  blaypublishers.com

  1. Positive experiences for authors of papers published in LEB 
http://blaypublishers.com/testimonials/

  2. Free examples of papers published in LEB: 
http://blaypublishers.com/category/previous-issues/.

  3. Guidelines for Authors and page charges of LEB: 
http://blaypublishers.com/archives/ .

  4. Want to subscribe to LEB? http://blaypublishers.com/subscriptions/



  http://blayjorge.wordpress.com/

  http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/santiagoblay.cfm 





-- 

Malcolm L. McCallum
Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Aquaculture and Water Quality Research Scientist
School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences

Langston University
Langston, Oklahoma


Link to online CV and portfolio : 
https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO

Google Scholar citation page: 
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lOHMjvYJ=en
Academia.edu: 
https://ui-springfield.academia.edu/MalcolmMcCallum/Analytics#/activity/overview?_k=wknchj
Researchgate: 
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Malcolm_Mccallum/reputation?ev=prf_rep_tab
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“Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array of 
animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a many-faceted 
treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, 

Re: [ECOLOG-L] Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed

[Malcolm McCallum]

Soft body parts will have signficant shrinkage.  This has been demonstrated
conclusively with vertebrates, specifically with larval and juvenile
fishes.  With vertebrates, as they get larger, the signficance of this
shrinkage tends to be less.  I would expect similar results with inverts,
except that there is actually a lot more softbody exoskeleton in most
inverts than we typically consider.  THere should be papers demonstrating
shrinkage in invertebrates, however, I would be pretty surprised if you
find much information on larviformes.  My expectation is that larvae are
going to have huge amounts of shrinkage.

I would expect adult coleoptera, particularly Scarabidae, Cuculionidae,
Carabidae, Erotylidae, Coccinelidae, and other typical beetle forms to have
minimal shrinkage
Stapholyindae  probably show much more as adults.
Orthoptera undoubtedly shrink in body length, I would not be surprised if
some shrink more than 10%.
Related Mantoidea (I think it is now an Order rather than family), and
other orthopteran like families will behave similarly.
Odonates may shrink a ton, Hemiptera are probably variable like Coleoptera,
ditto for the leafhoppers and cicadas
Hymenoptera and Diptera probably shrink a bit as adults, but some families
more so than others.
Larvae and nymphs will probably shrink pretty bad for all groups.

Crustaceans may not shrink much at all thanks to the calciferous
exoskeleton, but again this will depend as something like a hermit crab
sill show a lot of abdominal shrinkage.

I am sure the invertebrate biologists will know a lot more about this than
me.  These are largely wha

On Fri, Sep 16, 2016 at 2:43 PM, Jorge A. Santiago-Blay  wrote:

> Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed
>
> Dear Ecolog-Listers:
>
> I have nearly ca. 200 museum specimens of aquatic larval insects (1-3 cm
> long) that I assume were killed by dumping them in (at the minimum) 70%
> ethanol. In the only one case that the label states anything about
> preservation method, it reads "KAAD --> 95%". I assume that several
> changes in ethanol 70% have taken place to refill vials, as needed, in the
> 48-77 years since the specimens have been dead.
>
>
> Question: While the hard body parts will barely change in dimension with
> time, does anyone know how does the softer body parts change in size? Is
> there any variation in size change whether the preservation took place
> early or late in the instar?
>
>
> If you have any constructive suggestions, please email me directly at
>
> blayjo...@gmail.com
>
> Apologies for potential duplicate emails.
>
> Gratefully,
>
> Jorge
>
> Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD
> blaypublishers.com
>
> 1. Positive experiences for authors of papers published in *LEB*
> http://blaypublishers.com/testimonials/
>
> 2. Free examples of papers published in *LEB*: http://blaypublishers.
> com/category/previous-issues/.
>
> 3. *Guidelines for Authors* and page charges of *LEB*:
> http://blaypublishers.com/archives/ *.*
>
> 4. Want to subscribe to *LEB*? http://blaypublishers.com/subscriptions/
>
>
> http://blayjorge.wordpress.com/
> http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/santiagoblay.cfm
>



-- 
Malcolm L. McCallum
Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Aquaculture and Water Quality Research Scientist
School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences
Langston University
Langston, Oklahoma


Link to online CV and portfolio :
https://www.visualcv.com/malcolm-mc-callum?access=18A9RYkDGxO
Google Scholar citation page:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lOHMjvYJ=en
Academia.edu:
https://ui-springfield.academia.edu/MalcolmMcCallum/Analytics#/activity/overview?_k=wknchj
Researchgate:
 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Malcolm_Mccallum/reputation?ev=prf_rep_tab

Ratemyprofessor: http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=706874

*Confidentiality Notice:* This e-mail message, including any attachments,
is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain
confidential and privileged information.  Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited.  If you are not the
intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the original message.

“*Nothing is more priceless and worthy of preservation than the rich array
of animal life with which our country has been blessed. It is a
many-faceted treasure, of value to scholars, scientists, and nature lovers
alike, and it forms a vital part of the heritage we all share as Americans.*
”
*-President Richard Nixon upon signing the Endangered Species Act of 1973
into law.*

"*Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive*" -*
Allan Nation*

*1880's: *"*There's lots of good fish in the sea*"  W.S. Gilbert
*1990's:*  Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss,and
pollution.
2000:  Marine reserves, 

[ECOLOG-L] Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed

[Jorge A. Santiago-Blay]

Change in linear dimensions of soft tissues in larval insect when fixed

Dear Ecolog-Listers:

I have nearly ca. 200 museum specimens of aquatic larval insects (1-3 cm
long) that I assume were killed by dumping them in (at the minimum) 70%
ethanol. In the only one case that the label states anything about
preservation method, it reads "KAAD --> 95%". I assume that several changes
in ethanol 70% have taken place to refill vials, as needed, in the 48-77
years since the specimens have been dead.


Question: While the hard body parts will barely change in dimension with
time, does anyone know how does the softer body parts change in size? Is
there any variation in size change whether the preservation took place
early or late in the instar?


If you have any constructive suggestions, please email me directly at

blayjo...@gmail.com

Apologies for potential duplicate emails.

Gratefully,

Jorge

Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, PhD
blaypublishers.com

1. Positive experiences for authors of papers published in *LEB*
http://blaypublishers.com/testimonials/

2. Free examples of papers published in *LEB*:
http://blaypublishers.com/category/previous-issues/.

3. *Guidelines for Authors* and page charges of *LEB*:
http://blaypublishers.com/archives/ *.*

4. Want to subscribe to *LEB*? http://blaypublishers.com/subscriptions/


http://blayjorge.wordpress.com/
http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/santiagoblay.cfm