What is the best way to store insect collections? Recently an enquiry was posted on NHCOLL-L (electronic forum for the care and use of natural history collections) about the use of wood as a material for insect storage cabinets. The question was:

What kind of preservative should be used to treat some new storage cabinets made of eucalyptus wood, that would not harm the insect specimens stored inside them?

The post sparked a discussion about ideal insect storage. Below is a little summary of the factors to consider when planning storage for your entomology collection.

The ideal solution

The ideal solution for insect storage in most situations are metal cabinets, which are robust, relatively cheap, made with a high degree of consistency and can be made air tight (well, almost). This will protect the collection against insect infestations, airborne pollutants and humidity fluctuations (although not temperature fluctuations – cf. Szcepanowska et al. 2013.

Why use wood preservatives?

However, if you do need to use wood for the cabinets, you should consider the following concerns.

Usually, the reasons for treating wood with preservatives are either:

• to make it more hard-wearing (in the case of wooden floors), or
• to stop it being attacked by fungi or insects, or
• to prevent it from greying when exposed to UV light.

Most of these issues are problems mainly in outdoor applications of wood, and there are a number of ways of dealing with these: wood can be varnished to make it protect it from physical impacts, stained to protect it from UV light, and pressure-treated or painted with insecticides and fungicides (ranging from highly toxic substances, such as pentachlorophenol, to less hazardous ones, such as borax).

Assuming the entomology store is dry, has a low relative humidity, clean and there is no problem with insect pests – which should all be the case to safeguard the collection, never mind the storage cabinets – there is really no reason why the cabinets need a finish at all. This applies to all woods – whether in a museum or in a domestic situation, wood used indoors should not require any treatment to protect it from fungal or insect infestations, or greying. Coming back to eucalyptus wood in particular: this has a naturally high content of polyphenols, which makes it naturally resistant to mould growth and insect attack, further negating the need to treat it.

There is one exception: if old cabinets are bought from another institution there is a danger that pest insects may be present already, which could introduce them into the new location. It is advisable therefore to check any old cabinets thoroughly before they are installed – better still, before they are transported to the new location. This then gives time to investigate appropriate treatment options, which are not restricted to chemical means; instead, the units may be frozen, heat-treated or treated in a nitrogen chamber. But that is an entirely different subject which shall be discussed in detail elsewhere.

Organic acid emissions

A further question was the issue of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Wood naturally emits many different VOCs, including acetic and formic acids, which is a problem in many museum collections (e.g. causing Byne’s disease in Mollusca and egg collections, and enhancing pyrite decay in geological collections). There does not appear to be a problem with VOCs affecting insect specimens themselves, although organic acids frequently lead to pin corrosion in insect collections. Many wood preservatives may exacerbate the problem of VOC emissions from storage cabinets. As we always look for ways of lowering such airborne pollutants in museum stores and galleries there is another reason against the use of wood preservatives in entomology stores – actually, ANY museum stores.

What material to choose for the drawers? Experience has shown that plastic drawers have problems with static electricity charging, which attracts dust. Metal drawers can be heavy and unwieldy. Wooden drawers still appear to be very much the most practical way of storing insects. However, the type of wood used should not emit large amounts of VOCs, and the drawers should have well-fitting lids to keep out pests. If you wanted to use a locally sourced (sustainable and ethical) wood you might have to undertake a little research. Generally, hard woods are better than softwoods (drawers made from softwood can warp with time and often contain large amounts of resin), although many imported tropical woods used in days gone by are now controversial for environmental and social reasons. When researching the potential suitability of different wood types, try tracking down a comparative study of the VOC emissions of different local hardwoods, which would give you an indication of those high emission species to avoid in the construction of drawers.

Further guidance

The UK’s Natural Sciences Collections Association [http://www.natsca.org/] has published some guidance on the construction of insect storage units:

• Walker et al. (1999) (p. 49)
• Carter and Walker (1999) (p. 146)

NHCOLL-L is a general purpose electronic forum for those with an interest in the care, management, computerization, conservation and use of natural history collections. Hosted by Yale University, NHCOLL-L is co-sponsored by the Society of the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and the Association for Systematic Collections (ASC, Natural History Collections Alliance).

Disclaimer: The links in this article are purely examples of potential pest management but by no means an endorsement of particular companies or organisations.

Every Monday curatorial staff from the Department of Natural Sciences at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales highlight some of the fantastic mollusc specimens from our collections, on Twitter using the hashtag #MolluscMonday

The Molluscan collections at Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales number some 180,000 lots from many different collections which have been amalgamated into one systematic sequence.

The most historically important part of the collections is the Melvill-Tomlin collection which came to us in 1955 and contains over 1,000,000 specimens!

Want to find out more? Why not follow us on Twitter @CardiffCurator or @NatHistConserve or follow the hashtag #MolluscMonday to find out about this fascinating group of animals. Lots of people have been joining in so why not join in the fun!

Look out for some of our favourite hashtags, for ex. #MolluscMonday, #BotanicMonday, #WormWedneday and #FossilFriday.

Hello bulb buddies!

I hope you are all having fun recording the weather information. You’re doing a great job so far.

The weather is very chilly this morning (Monday 24th of November). Last night the temperature in Cardiff fell to 0°C and we had our first proper frost of the year. The temperature was as low as -3°C in some parts of England and Wales. Brrr!

But this cold weather is nothing compared to what some parts of America have been experiencing in the past week. In some areas in the northeast of the country the temperature fell to -15°C. Some places also had two metres of snow! Now that is wintry weather.

The good news is that forecasters do not think that the cold and snow are going to come across the Atlantic to the UK. So no snowmen for us just yet.

What does cold weather mean for our bulbs? Lots of plants don’t like the cold and will perish if it gets too cold. This is why lots of gardeners worry about frost, because it can hurt their plants.

But because we planted our bulbs in the ground, they will be just fine. The earth that we covered them with acts like a warm blanket to keep our baby bulbs nice and cosy. Why don’t you make an origami booklet about the life of a bulb, which you can find here?

You should all now be recording the temperature and rainfall each day and don’t forget to record your results at the end of each week on our website.

Keep up the good work!

Professor Plant

Your questions, my answers:

Ysgol Y Plas - Every day we tip out the water out but on fridays we tip it out then leave over the weekend and then take the rain fall on monday. So on monday the water measurement is from the weekend as well as that day, from c. Prof P – That’s perfect, keep up the good work!

Keir Hardie Memorial Primary School - On Wednesday we forgot to empty the rainfall catcher so we think this is why the rainfall is so high. Prof P – Don’t worry, even the best scientists make mistakes. If you wanted to be really clever you could use maths to work out Thursday’s rainfall. Take away Wednesday’s rain from Thursday’s to see how much rain fell on Thursday.

Saint Anthony's Primary School - We are enjoying the project so far. It's has been fun planting all the bulbs and we can't wait until they grow. We decorated name tags and put them on plant pots to plant our bulbs in. R and L. I have noticed that even when there has been a big rainfall, there is still very little water in the rain gauge. Prof P – Well done everyone at Saint Anthony’s. Your name tags sound great! Perhaps you could ask your teacher to take a photo and send it to me? If your rain gauge isn’t catching water, make sure that there is nothing near it which could stop the rain from falling into it.

Burscough Bridge Methodist School - Again apologises the data is late due to the damages to the equipment, however it is all back up and working. Prof P – Hello to everyone at Burscough Bridge! Don’t worry about being late, just do the best you can. I’m sorry that your equipment got damaged. If there is anything I can do to help then just let me know.

Tongwynlais Primary School - We are really enjoying measuring the weather! We haven't had to water our plants yet as we've had so much rain! Prof P – Hello Tongwynlais, I’m glad you’re enjoying the project. Not having to water your plants is one of the many reasons it is so good to live in Wales!

Ysgol Talybont - We've looked on your map to check our previous observations but it is just saying no data received. Could you please check and contact us if we are doing something wrong on inputting the information Prof P - Hi Talybont. I think I have solved the problem, it was nothing that you were doing wrong! Try the map again and let me know if you have any further issues.

Ysgol Nant Y Coed - We had lots of fun, there wasn’t that much rainfall. Thank you for choosing our school to do it. Prof P – I’m sure there will be plenty of rainfall for you to record in the next few months! Thank you for taking part Nant Y Coed!

Hello bulb buddies!

St. Paul's Primary School:

My name is A and I am 9 years old. It is my job all next week to take the weather measurements for you. I think I will enjoy it as I love being in the garden. Prof P – Hello Aiden and everyone else at St Paul’s. It sounds like you are doing a great job recording the weather. Keep up the good work!

Kilmory Primary School:

unable to record rainfall accurately Thurs 22mm Friday 26mm. Prof P – Hi Kilmory, do you need any help with measuring rainfall? Or was your gauge just knocked over?

St. Brigid's School:

It has been a cold and wet start to our bulb investigation. We have all made labels and they are standing up nicely in their pots in a safe part of the school. We are all looking forward to seeing the final results. Prof P – Well done to everybody at St Brigid’s. I hope you all had lots of fun planting and making labels. I’m looking forward to seeing your results too!

Ysgol Rhys Prichard:

Very windy on Thursday and heavy rain over night Crisp and clear on Bonfire Night. Very windy on Thursday 13th. A tree blew down near school. Prof P – Da iawn Ysgol Rhys Prichard. Great weather reporting. I hope you all had a good Bonfire Night!

Llanharan Primary School:

Is Monday's rainfall a record of all the rain caught on the weekend? Prof P – Hi everyone at Llanharan. This is a really good question. Yes it is, otherwise we would have no record of the rain that falls over the weekend. I can see that you have already done this for last week’s data, so good job!

Rougemont Junior School:

We planted our baby bulbs on the 27th in line with Scotland. Please remember Professor we were on holiday when Wales were planting. What with fireworks and the cold snap of weather we hope they are tucked up safe and warm! Rougemont year 5 and 6. Prof P – Good job Rougemont. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday. I’ll be sure to remember that you started on the 27th. Your bulbs are tucked up in a nice blanket of soil so they don’t need to worry about the cold!

Bickerstaffe CE Primary School:

We will do as many as we can through the week, can't guarantee every day. Readings will all be taken close to 9.00 a.m.

Rain recorded on Tuesday morning will have been the total for Sat, Sun and Monday

Prof P – Hello Bickerstaffe! Don’t worry if you miss a few days, just do as much as you can. If possible it might be better to take the weather measurements in the afternoon so you get a better picture of that day’s conditions. But as long as you record at roughly the same time each day then it doesn’t really matter.

Guardbridge Primary School:

It rained a lot on Friday. Prof P – Hello Guardbridge, well done for watching the weather closely. It rained a lot in Wales on that day too.

Rivington Foundation Primary School:

Friday was a very rainy day! Prof P – Oh dear! I hope you all stayed warm and dry inside.

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School:

We are really excited at being involved in this project. We have enjoyed clearing the weeds to plant our daffodils and planting all our bulbs. It is fun taking turns to check the rainfall and temperature. Prof P – Hello to everyone at the Blessed Sacrament. It sounds like you all worked very hard planting your bulbs, well done!

Stanford in the Vale Primary School:

A very cold start to the day on Tuesday and Wednesday! Lots and lots of rain Thursday night....bright blue clear sky today! And the sun is shinning. Prof P – Great weather reporting. It’s nice to hear the sun is shining in Oxfordshire!

St. Paul's Primary School:

hi its  its been really raining this week. Prof P – Thanks for the weather information! I’m sorry that you’ve had a rainy week, but at least the plants won’t be thirsty!

Glyncollen Primary School:

We are really enjoying taking care of our bulbs and reading the rainfall and temperature measurements.

We are not sure if our thermometer is working properly because it has been giving us high readings and the weather has been colder this week. On Wednesday we put a new thermometer outside and our readings now seem closer to what the weather forecast says. Is it possible for you to send us a new thermometer please? Diolch yn fawr. Blwyddyn 4 Prof P – Da iawn Glyncollen! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the project. You’re right, your temperature readings do seem very high. I’ll send you a new thermometer as soon as possible.

Ysgol Iau Hen Golwyn:

Hi. We are year 4 in Ysgol Hen Golwyn. We like doing the project and we have completed the first week. We like your beard. Some of our pots were knocked over and the rain gauge was tipped over too but everything is going to plan now. Prof P – Hello Year 4! I’m glad you’re enjoying the project. Don’t worry too much about things getting knocked over. Problems like that are part of life as a scientist.

Ysgol Bro Eirwg:

Rydyn ni wedi mwynhau dysgu a chofnodi yr wythnos hon! Prof P – Da iawn pawb!

The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School:

We are taking it in turns to collect the weather data. The weather has been very wet and windy at times. But it is cool to be a scientist, even if you miss a bit of football! H Prof P – Thank you for the weather data! You’re right, it is cool to be a scientist. I hope you didn’t miss too much football!

Coppull Parish Primary School:

My Year 4 children have recorded these by themselves. They could be the other way around. For example I have switched Thursday's temperature number with Thursday's Rainfall number. It didn't seem to be zero degrees celcius that day and the children wrote mm in the temperature boxes. Hmmmmm. mm also cropped up in the temperature on Wed. Marie Codd Science Leader and Forest School Leader. Prof P – Hi Marie. It’s great that the children are recording the data themselves. It is still very early in the project so there are bound to be some mistakes. I’m sure that by the end of the year you will all be experts. Well done everyone!

On November 13th Class Hawk from Trelai Primary joined us for Kids in Museums Takeover day. They tested out some new activities and trails that have been developed for the Artes Mundi exhibition. In the afternoon they worked on developing their own ideas for activities. These were presented to Artes Mundi who will be incorporating some of them into new resources for children. The class came up with some excellent ideas for activities that could be done in any gallery space which we wanted to share, you can see them below.

Thanks and a big hand to Class Hawk and Mr.Cole for all your hard work and excellent fun!

CLASS HAWK'S IDEAS

Pick some words that describe the space you are in/the works on display and make a word-cloud from them

Use this to make a rap

Find the names of artists and works and make a word search for them

Describe how the works of art make you feel using pictures

Make masks inspired by the works on display

Have an I Spy game to play in the space where we have to find things on a check list  - these could be parts of a work of art or words like the names of artists

We like activities that helps us move slowly through the space and appreciate the work