Revision of Preservation of mantids from Mon, 2008-05-05 15:14

Methods of preserving dead mantids are outlined below.

Once dead, mantids rot quickly so an efficient method of preservation is essential. 

Immersion in 70% alcohol is a standard method used by many ecologists, but it usually destroys much of the colour and should therefore be avoided if possible.

As with most insects, mantids are usually best preserved by drying them; it is important to dry them quickly.  Small specimens can be dried without any other treatment, larger specimens may need treating to stop them rotting before they have a chance to dry.  Evisceration and stuffing with cotton wool is probably the best method of preservation available to most people.

Another simple alternative is to inject the insect with either 100% alcohol or 40% formalin.  Injecting either of these will cause discoloration of green mantids, stuffing often avoids this problem.   However, injecting formalin can cause the insect to becom every stiff and it is almost impossible to relax it and reposition the limbs once it has dried.

If the mantis is stuffed, care should be taken not to remove the genitalia of the males (or if removed, the genitalia should be properly preserved) since the genitalia may be useful for identification.  Injecting alcohol is not very successful with large specimens unless they are subsequently dried quickly.

Positioning the legs correctly is very important as the spines on the legs are one of the main features used for identification.   The fore legs need to be spread so the spines can easily be inspected.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith