I am aware of the use of -20 C to -40 C range freezing for treating herbarium specimen. However, I am not sure if -80 deg. C would also work. Does anyone have any information/experience with it? Any potential damage to the specimen? What is the recommended duration for the treatment? Thanks.
Hello Binaya; If your specimens are dry I don't see how damage might occur to the specimen itself. Might it damage the adhesive? I don't know.
Freezing kill pests because ice crystals get large enough to lyse the cells of the pest. If your 180 setup freezes the material too quickly, it might not kill all pests because the ice crystals might not get big enough. A little experiment on adhesives and a trial bug or two might clarify. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
Binaya Adhikari Did you try freezing at-80°C finally? I am interested for our herbarium. Thank you in advance
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