Department of Entomology, CA, UOS
Getting Started
For collection, you’ll need some equipment and skills
Collecting & curating your insects will be a valuable ‘hands on
learning experience’
Getting Started
Here are four very good sources for study, ready-made insect
collection and monitoring equipment; there may be more…..
Bioquip--- [Link]/html/[Link]
Gemplers--- [Link]/insect-monitoring
Great Lakes IPM--- [Link]
Ward’s Natural Science--- [Link]/
Where, When and How to collect
Insects?
Where When
Insects found everywhere Most of the insects
Within Plant parts hibernate in winter and
Inside or around human become active early spring
habitat to late fall
Artificial light during night Best time to collect -
Aquatic habitats, ponds, Summer
river etc You can collect diurnal
Under stones, debris species during day
In soil Noturnal during night
What Equipment Could You Use to Make an Arthropod
Collection?
Nets, Aspirator Data labels
Kill Jar Pinning block
Lights traps Spreading boards
Pins Berlese funnel
Notebook Forcep
Alcohol vials Insect box
Hand lens
‘Arthropods are everywhere’--- You will have to ‘look everywhere’
at different times of day or seasons, using a variety
of tools and techniques for best results.
Be careful; stay safe
Collecting Equipment
Insect net
• Two types
1. Aerial net
2. Dip net
[Link]
Aerial net
Consist of
• handle,
• wire rim,
• Cloth bag
• Rim – 12 inch
• Muslin cloth bag – double the width of ring (24 inch)
[Link]
Sweeping usually will catch a variety of
insects.
Avoid being stung by bees and
wasps
Uga5359069
HF Schwartz, CO State Univ, [Link]
Dip Net
For aquatic insects
Almost similar to aerial net but is shallower
Length of bag is equal to metal ring
Net dipped into water for swimming insects
Aspirator
Consist of
1. Glass vial
2. Mouthpiece tube
3. Intake tube
Glass vial is fitted with a cork or rubber
having two holes in it *
Suck on this
For small insects. End of tubing
The net is absolutely necessary to
keep you from sucking insects
into your mouth and lungs.
K Loeffelman, Univ Idaho, [Link]
Sifter/Berles funnel
Consist of
Funnel fitted on inner side with cloth
Funnel has a container of alcohol below and
light bulb above
All these fitted on a wooden box
For soil insects
Light repel the insects and force down to
container
Traps, Trapping
Traps can be very simple and inexpensive
Here are some simple and inexpensive ideas to try
REMEMBER: Safety is of the utmost importance!!
Light traps
Stand
Light bulb
Lower side funnel
Container with alcohol
Catch insects coming to the light at night
or before dawn
Sticky traps
Water Traps
Shallow tray
Few drops detergent
Kill Jar • Take a wide mouth glass jar
•Put a thin layer of powdered sodium or
potassium cyanide
•On this layer, place half inch layer of
dry plaster of paris
•Another half inch layer of wet plaster
of paris for holding the cyanide below
•Leave it uncorked for a few hours
•Close it tightly with a cork
•Labeled as poison
Once You Have Some Insects, You’re Almost
Ready to Pin
Practice pinning on some of your larger, more common insects
first---like grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
Some larger beetles may have harder wing covers. Use a larger
pin here; guide pin carefully to prevent punching out the legs
Save smaller, delicate specimens, moths & butterflies for later
Insect Pins
• Stainless steel---purchase these
• Large and medium size insects --- (35-40mm Pin # 16)
•Small Insects (10-12mm Pin #20)
Pinning Insects---Caution!
Insects dry rapidly
If you try to pin a dry insect---the legs will probably fall off--
-and worse
Large Insects Pinning
Pin # 16
True Bugs - Center of scutellum
Beetles & Weevils – Base of right elytron
Grasshoper – middle of pro thorax
All other insects pinned through thorax
between forewings
Small Insects
Pin # 20
Same as for large insects
Pinned insects fascinated on
piece of cork
Minute insects
Glued on tips of card
Pointing Small, Delicate Insects
Point in place on insect pin
Alcohol Vials?
Used for specialized collecting:
immatures, nymphs, larvae
80% alcohol
Use screw cap vials with cap seals---
prevents evaporation
Label with pencil or alcohol-proof
Content
ink.
Of vial
(It’s the larva of
A human bot fly!)
Spreading Board
• For Lepidoptera, Odonata
•Pin your fresh specimen first.
Get some extra pins & narrow strips of
paper for next steps
Small insects – board with narrow groove
Large insects – board with wide groove
Spreading Lepidoptera
1 3
Use one extra pin
to pull forewing
forward w/o
puncturing
it. Vein on
leading edge Multiple pins can Use extra pins
is strong enough to anchor wings under to support
allow you to push wing forward paper strips. abdomen, antennae
2 4 Forewings are
at right angles
to axis of body
Hold wing
in place
with pin through Let sit several
paper strip; repeat days-week. Remove Practice makes
for hind wing, pushing its leading edge pins, paper, pin into perfect!
under trailing edge of forewing display.
Data Label
State County Country (if needed)
City or
Regional info
Habitat/host data
Date
Collector
Preserving
Dry Preservation
Wooden boxes/collection boxes
Cork sheet at the bottom
18” x 12” x 3” size
Nepthalene balls in boxes
Wet Preservation
Soft bodied insects, minute size
Preserving fluid 70-80% etyl alcohol and 2% formaline
Housing Your Insect Collection
Protect it from:
-Other damaging insects, fungi
-Too much light, heat, moisture
-Handling or touching, shaking,
dropping
Housing Your Insect Collection
Housing Your Insect Collection
Here are some examples to consider
These specimens
are arranged by
Order
Labels are
legible but
These specimens also a little long
are arranged by Order
ABLE I
Collection and Preservation of Insect Specimens for Insect
Orders
Equipment to Collection
Taxon Habitat Preparation
use method
Leaf litter, Berlese Place in funnel 70% EtOH,
Protura, Diplura,
rotten logs and funnel, for several days, mount on
and
stumps, aspirator, wet jar of alco- microslides
birds’ nests, hol beneath, light
Collembola brush
other detritus above
Buildings Forceps,
Thysanura and (silverfish), Berlese Same as above 70% EtOH
leaflitter, funnel
logs,
Microcoryphia
seashores
Naiads: Dip nets,
Kick samples,
Ephemeroptera streams, rivers, grab 70% EtOH
pick off stones
lakes samplers
Adults: fields Aerial nets, Pick off plants or
and forests light traps from light sheet
70% EtOH,
Naiads:
Dredge or kick place in
Odonata streams, lakes, Dip nets
sample with net envelope,
ponds
wings
folded over
back, and card
with
collecting data;
spread for
display
Adults: fields,
Sweep fast from
near streams Aerial nets
behind with net
and
ponds
Kick-netting in
Naiads:
Plecoptera Aquatic nets riffles, pick off 70% EtOH
streams
stones, sweep
shore vegetation
Adults: along Light trap,
streams at aerial and
lights sweep
nets, light
trapping
Fields, forests, Sweep nets, Mount on
Orthoptera and Sweep and aerial
gardens, and light traps, insect pins,
other netting, light trap
other aerial support body
orthopteroids terrestrial nets, hand sampling until dry
Resources
Triplehorn, C.A. & N.F. Johnson. 2005. Borror And DeLong’s Introduction to the
Study of Insects, 7th ed. Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Entomological Society of America: [Link]