habitat may be preserved in the same jar. Labels should then be placed on the jar and
the jar capped. The alcohol mount should be air-tight and without air pockets. A screw
cap or rubber stopper is excellent, but cork stoppers allow too much evaporation. Vials
with rubber stopper Iids must be "burped" to remove any air from the container as it is
closed. Place the tip of a probe needle along side the stopper as you gently push the
stopper into the vial. The probe wiII create a channel through which excess
air/preservative is forced as the stopper is seated. Once the stopper is seated, remove
the probe to seal the container.
c. Labeling Procedure. Labels for this type of mount are placed inside the jar.
If the label is placed outside the container, constant handling and examination wiII soon
smudge or tear the label. The label is written in India ink on waterproof bond paper.
The size of the label depends on the size of the specimen and the jar. Obviously, the
label should be legible, but it should never obscure the specimen. Locality and habitat
information and the type of medium is printed on the bottom half of the label. If India ink
is unavailable, a penciI should be used to make temporary labels. Ballpoint pen ink
d. Alternate Mounting Medium. In some cases, an alternate mounting medium
may be used. Most of these alternates are acceptable for all types of soft-bodied
arthropods. One alternate medium is known as AGA. It is especially recommended for
caterpillars.
AGA medium:
9 parts 95 percent ethyl alcohol'
5 parts distilled water
1 part glycerin
1 part glacial acetic acid
4-8.
PERMANENT ALCOHOL MOUNTS
For shipping or permanent storage, the permanent alcohol mount is used. A jar
is padded with cotton or gauze. A properly prepared temporary alcohol mount is
inserted into the padded jar. More than one temporary mount may be placed in the
same jar if padding is placed between them. "Windows" should be left in the padding
for viewing the specimen. The jar is filled with the same media or one compatible with
the media in the temporary mount. It is not necessary to add glycerin to the permanent
mount, nor are labels required since the labels of the temporary mount should be legible
through the windows. The jar is capped with a screw cap and sealed with paraffin.
Section IV. SLIDE MOUNTS
4-9.
GENERAL
The kinds of arthropods that may be mounted on slides are: immature Diptera
such as mosquito larvae and pupae; small adult Diptera such as Phlebotomines and
Culicoides; and adult ectoparasites such as fleas, mites, and Iice. Either temporary or
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