Posted by Nosferatumyia on 21-04-2008 16:13
#9
conopid wrote:
Cyanide:o I don't think I would ever contemplate carrying this or even having it anywhere near me. Strictly for the brave. For larger flies I just give them a bigger dose of ethyl-acetate, in a smallish tube. It always seems to work.
Why? A very nice thing! Especially if you need to have a large series for DNA and do not want to anesthesize every next of the 200 flies in the net with the carbon dioxyde before you decide if to pin it or to put in the tube with the alcohol. The only caution: do not open your killing jar in the tent; just in the open air not to be poisoned (it works exactly like carbon monoxyde!).
The other minus is that some insects like many weevils are absolutely resistant to cyanides...
And the last, - cyanide is very unstable; it evaporates as HCN very fast, so you must keep with you 2-3 eppendorf's tubes with 2 lethal doses each during the one-month trip. And I am not sure if you can manage to bring either EA or KCN aboard with you when fly somewhere by plane, even in your luggage... :(