Acidity of wood

[777]

I've read everywhere that wood and most paper is acidic and can gradually harm objects in collections. Even a shell collecting friend tells me not to use wooden cabinets for shells. I have a question, are pinned insects affected by being stored in wooden insect drawers for years, or no? I have been storing my seashells in airtight plastic boxes only, but I never gave much thought about my cornell drawers and insects until now.

[eurytides]

Never heard of this being a problem. The specimens are pinned and don’t touch the wood.

[KKarns]

Major collections all over the world have wood drawers with collections dating back centuries. Bugs from these drawers look as good as the day they were caught in most cases. Light and dermestids are the enemy! lol.

[adamcotton]

Even a shell collecting friend tells me not to use wooden cabinets for shells.

That's not so surprising, as shells are made of Calcium, whereas insects are basically chitin.

Adam.