# how to anesthetize insects?



## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i have stumbled upon a perfect feeder that made its way into my propagation tank. its a very small <4mm pinkish orange isopod. ive captured a few, but got some other stuff in there as well, like a sp, of what look like tiny spiders (<2mm, they do not look like mites) which i would like to remove (im sure a spider that small would be harmless, and ive seen multiples of them over a long period of time so i doubt theyre spiderlings.

anyway the idea is i use some sort of anesthetic (possibly a gas) to "knock out" the bugs, separate them with a magnifying glass and tweezers, and create a new culture of just the isopods, but what anesthetic would be safe to use and how do i calculate the amount? perhaps ether? but its not like i have access to anything more pure than starter fluid.

anesthetic ideas anyone?

james


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Instead of trying to knock them out, use a berlese funnel and then use a moistened paintbrush to seperate out the isopods. 

Ed


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i hadnt thought of that. seems like id be doing a lot of waiting or does the light drive them out?

james


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## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

How about the fridge? I know it works to slow down flies to an almost death like state.


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## elscotto (Mar 1, 2005)

Berleze funnels work pretty quickly. The combination of light, higher temps, and dessication drive the bugs through the bottom. Then, you could also use an aspirator to collect bugs that you want to culture:
Pooter - Definition of Pooter in the Entomologists' glossary - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)



james67 said:


> i hadnt thought of that. seems like id be doing a lot of waiting or does the light drive them out?
> 
> james


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