Insect mines - methods
Imaging and preserving mines
Imaging mines
Host plants and mines may be photographed using either a film or digital camera. The later are preferable because of their immediacy. Any digital camera with the ability to capture images of 3 Megapixels or more and a lens allowing at least 1:1 image to subject ratio is suitable.Your resulting images will provide you with a permanent record of the host plant's and mine's appearances when fresh, when it is usually easier to observe the larva or larvae and frass inside the mine.
Preserving mines
Pressed mines should be mounted on archive quality herbarium sheets, documented and stored in a dry place. The collections of mines at the Natural History Museum are mounted on folded A4 paper using white gummed paper strips. Data is printed on the outside of the folder. The folders are stored flat in card boxes in steel cupboards.