I love things in jars

You are always welcome to visit the collection of Things In Jars in OJ17. We haven't got quite as many as the Natural History Museum in London: they have 27 km of shelves ( you can go on a tour). But our collection still represents a wide range of creatures (including even some plants). I have little idea about the provenance of many but I do like to wonder how the more exotic ones might have ended up here.

CC image by Mads Bødker

You can preserve creatures in alcohol for a long time. Charles Darwin used the technique when he was on the Beagle in the 1830s, and his specimens still survive (here's an octopus he caught in St Jago, the Verde Islands). He popped it in 'Spirits of Wine', which was indeed made by distilling wine to concentrate the ethanol. But you don't have to go to that trouble: the university has a special license to purchase swirling gallons of the stuff tax-free, so I can give you some for your spiders or fish.

Naturally, if you've been pickled in alcohol for many years, you don't look quite as fresh as you did when you were alive. I do rather like the faded ethereal look of the specimens. However, you'll want to document the colours of yours before they lose them, or it might make your identifications that much more difficult. Spiders lose their colour remarkably quickly.

You'll also want to make sure your containers are properly tight, or you'll get the ethanol evaporating and leaving your specimen high and dry (this is good neither for your specimen nor your mark). I can offer a range of tubes though you might find others you prefer.

The concentration of the ethanol is important too - 70% is recommended (in fact once you start looking into it, a lot of things are recommended) and I can make this up for you.

Looking after a huge collection must be a massive job: this blog at UCL details their 'Project Pickle' to revitalise the specimens they own. Don't say 'pickle' to a museum curator though, it's far too casual :) This is a serious business. The entire UCL blog is very interesting and I recommend a look.