I've caught a Chironomid larva that I want to mount.
As of right now, I've it stored in 70% Et OH. Is there a protocol for staining the nervous system and/or muscle tissue? I've a Polarization setup to see the muscle fibers, but I would like to view more things.
Will Luxol Fast Blue work? How about H&E ?
I have more stains, but no knowledge of animal histology whatsoever.
I would like to mount it in Karo syrup, but I also have synthetic resin and Canada Balsam.
Thanks
Uriel
Staining a Chironomid Larva
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Re: Staining a Chironomid Larva
Not aware of staining that would work for whole mounts... maybe silver staining could work since it's used for fairly thick neural tissue. If it could be sectioned, H&E would be the preference. If you have access to a fluorescent microscope, or a confocal/light sheet/MP microscope, fluorescent staining would be the way to go.
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Re: Staining a Chironomid Larva
That would be cool, but unfortunately I don't have access to a Microtome,Confocal or Fluorescence microscope. Can Lactophenol be used to mount such specimens?