Hello everybody!
We are working with pollinators in-field and are looking for the least damaging but most feasible way to narcotise them. We don't have to handle them for a long time: measure thorax height and mark them with a pen.
Currently, we are working with a bicycle tube CO2 refill pump. We expose them to CO2 for
Hello Marie; Doing the same manipulation with dragonflies one of my students used a picnic ice chest filled with a block of ice. The container stayed cold all day. It would probably have lasted for two days if needed. You might try that. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Thanks, thought of that too. Could you share the name of the brand and model perhaps? some of our sites are located 4 hours hike up a steep mountain... a picnic ice chest will be useful only if not too heavy and rather compact.
Marie; In the sporting goods stores in California there is a wide selection of sizes and degrees of sturdiness. The one the student used was about 12x15x15 inches in size (he didn't have to lug it up a mountain). Without the ice it probably weighed one pound. You can probably fine one that suits your needs by doing some shopping online.
An alternative trick might be to use a thermos bottle filled with chopped ice. That would fit in a knapsack. Cheers, Jim Des Lauriers