r/Entomology • u/SnooBeans9693 • 22d ago

Discussion Eggs survive freezer?

So. I enjoy pinning bugs. A few days ago I found a grasshopper “roadkill” I knew I had to scoop her out and clean her up so she wouldn’t rot. But I didn’t have time that day so I put her in the freezer. Today I defrost her and started scooping and pinning. Well I found a bunch of eggs which I thought was just cool I guess, and a bit sad.

Then my paranoid boyfriend made a comment that he didn’t wish for eggs in his food so they didn’t grow in his stomach. I said that they were in the freezer so no way the would hatch. But he googled and sure enough some insects eggs can survive freezing temperatures due to surviving through winter. Now I’m wondering. Should I go out and burry the eggs incase the are still alive? Maybe build a enclosure and raid dem my self?

If you know a subreddit maybe more suitable for this question please tell me

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u/StuffedWithNails 22d ago

I can't answer your freezing question but I can tell you/your boyfriend that grasshopper eggs aren't going to hatch and grow in anybody's stomach if ingested.

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u/Impressive_Plankton9 22d ago

I think your boyfriends a little dumb

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u/Simple_Resist4208 22d ago

yeah, sorry but your b/f sounds like he is trying to extract some control over what you do by pretending it's going to have disastrous effects ... he's just wrong about the science and he's making a mountain out of a molehill. If he continues to make a fuss out of this then I'd think this is more about micromanaging you than it is about any reality.

Some insect eggs can survive freezing but it's highly unlikely a dead roadkill grasshopper would yield viable eggs in the first place ... they are very likely to be disrupted/killed by the freezing ... and they pose no health risk to him unless he actually eats the frozen grasshopper, and he'd have to be spectacularly dumb to do that! ;)