Had something happen today that got me to thinking,as you can see i have been selling a few patterns that i have way too many of,and some that i no longer use since i seldom go to the hills for trout anymore.I had some nyman ant patterns and had decided to keep the size 12-14's for panfish and i had two dozen size 16's that i was going to sell.I dropped them in a plastic cup container and noticed one of the rubber legs fell off,i picked up a few more and with just a slight touch the rubber legs started falling off all the ants!I would have felt bad if i had sold them and this would have happened to the buyer here,but the question is do flies have a "shelf life"?I for one keep spares in a plano 14-8" box that has dividers in it,is there a way of keeping them without deteriation?