In a message dated 8/12/2005 10:37:30 AM Central Daylight Time, pbs-request@lists.ibiblio.org writes: > I work in a laboratory where we use expensive items like Drierite > dessicant, Epi tubes for storage and Magenta boxes. Hi, I have to agree that my best results with any storage of pollen or seeds (if they will store at all) is when I have used materials that truly dessicant and containers which are airtight. So, drierite works much better for me (over several years) than silica beads. Also, ziplock bags don't compare to tightly closed baby food jars; ziplock bags leak humidity over several months. I mix a bit of the color-change indicator type (of drierite) mixed with the less expensive white form. This way, I can use "essentially" airtight containers but always use see-through containers and keep tabs on the drierite. Baby food jars work OK for me, but for long term storage (things I'm not sure if I'll get back to in a year or so), I use containers that have very good seals (fruit jars sometimes). If the drierite starts to turn pink I know that something is wrong, and I replace the container and add new drierite. Sometimes, I'll even dry seeds or pollen over drierite. I place air-dried materials over several inches of drierite and leave it for 2-3 weeks. Even if the drierite does not change to pink, I still retrieve the biological materials and put them over a new layer of drierite in a new container. Houston and humidity, and ways to deal with such, are just ways of life. One note about blue drierite: you can reuse it endlessly, just bake it for 2-3 hours at 250 in the oven. But, there is a trick. You have to bake it in a thin layer, about 1 particle thick in order to regain the nice blue color, and hence the useful color-change feature. I am not sure, but I think it has to do with oxygenation and heat. If you bake the particles in a layer of 1/2 or so, many of them turn lavender--not blue. In a container it is sometimes difficult to tell lavender from pink, and so the color-change wetness indicator is less effective. But blue drierite costs more, so I mix it about 10% with regular white. I think silica gel beads would work very well if the goal is to store pollen for 1-2 years. I've just never tried because drierite is a better dessicant and I have just always used it. Cordially, Conroe Joe