Insect collection
methods
Collection approaches
1. active collecting
It is done by sweep netting, foliage beating, searching the ground, under
rocks, sifting leaf litter, peeling tree bark
2. passive collecting
In passive collection, traps are set to either attract or intercept insects
including pitfall traps or baited pitfall traps, malaise and flight intercept
traps, light traps and collecting at a light sheet, sticky traps, pheromone
traps and yellow pans.
Different collection methods are used to target different types of insects, such as crawling insects,
flying insects, plant inhabiting insects, ground dwelling insects, and cryptic insects. The most
suitable method used in any particular situation will always be dependent on the aims of the
collecting and the types of insects that are being targeted.
For example, a biodiversity assessment of an area would more likely use a range of broad scale
passive trapping methods targeting a range of insect groups. Whereas, agricultural pest
monitoring for one particular insect species or targeted collecting of one particular group may
involve more active collecting and less of a range of methods, for example sampling a crop with a
beating sheet and active searching of foliage, or for butterfly collecting, simply a sweep net and a
great deal of patience!
And it should be noted that in many situations more than one method of collection may be
required or may result in more success in targeting a particular species or group of species,
especially as different life stages of the same insect often inhabit different habitat niches and
have different modes of life (e.g. flying butterflies and moths with (usually) plant eating crawling
caterpillar larvae).
Collection techniques for plant
associated and flying insects
A. Active plant sampling
Foliage Beating or Beat Sampling
A beating sheet or beating net is held under vegetation
and the foliage firmly tapped with a beating stick to
dislodge insects from the branches falling into the net.
Insects are collected off the sheet or net using an
aspirator or by hand into a container if they are too
large to fit through the aspirator tube. Samples from
each plant species should be kept separate, as
discussed in the following section. This is an effective
method for many plant inhabiting insects including
beetles, bugs, psyllids, caterpillars, and bug and beetle
larvae.
Sweep Netting
Generally a net with a long pole and
deep mesh bag is used, either to
collect large flying insects individually
(butterflies wasps, flies, dragonflies) or
by sweeping over foliage in a back and
forth / figure of 8 pattern many small
insects hidden in the foliage will be
collected.
Hand Collecting or Visual Checking
A useful method in support of beating and sweeping and plays
an important support role in agricultural sampling, being useful
for detecting pests such as aphids and silver leaf whitefly,
(Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha).
While checking leaves for adult or larval leaf feeding insects,
buds and flowers should be separated to search for eggs or
small larvae too. This may also incorporate looking around on
the ground for insects and digging around the base of the plant
and checking roots of crops. Collect specimen samples into
either ethanol or dry vials.
Passive sampling of flying insect
Yellow pans
Small yellow plastic dishes are placed on the ground. Dishes are half filled
with water and a drop or two of detergent (to break the surface tension).
Collect the yellow pans at the end of the day. Transfer specimens to an
alcohol vial. Salt may be added to the water as a preservative if yellow
pans are left out for longer. Note that many insects are attracted to yellow
and pan traps are very efficient collecting devices for flies, small wasps and
certain groups of beetles.
Light trapping
(i) Light sheet
Use of a light next to a white sheet. This involves setting up a white sheet,
usually using tent poles and ropes, beside which a mercury vapour (MV) or
fluorescent light is fixed. Insects attracted can be collected into specimen
vials. Note: safety glasses should be worn when working at a MV light to
protect eyes because of the UV emitted. Light traps attract a myriad of
insects, primarily moths, but also terrestrial and aquatic bugs and beetles,
wasps and mantids, while different species may arrive at different times
throughout the night. To some extent this is not passive sampling, as the
insects have to be found and collected by the collector at the sheet.
light sheet trap
(ii) Black light (UV)
bucket traps:
This is a passive collecting method using light, which
can be left unattended. A UV-strip light is held
vertically between 3 vanes which balance the light
over a large funnel placed over a bucket shaped
container. Many insects attracted to the light will fall
downwards into the bucket through the funnel. Inside
the bucket crunched up newspaper or cardboard
(broken egg cartons are good) are placed to increase
surface area for the insects to shelter, lessening the
amount of damage they may cause each other. This is
important, because bucket traps tend to collect
beetles which can damage moths simply by running
around. The insects are killed as they accumulate.
A slow release method of killing the insects over a
long period of time is ideal, for example, using a wick
in a bottle of ethyl acetate. Some of the vaporising
chemical should be put on the paper or egg cartons to
stun or kill the first arrivals.
Malaise Trapping
Malaise Trapping: A malaise trap is a tentlike trap, which
captures aerial insects. This is a mass trapping exercise
where all specimens are captured in a large jar, which is
usually filled with ethanol. These can be set up for a
varying amount of time, for example a week. These
traps work by intercepting insects in flight and so work
best when positioned in natural flight paths of flying
insects, such as forest edges or clearings, on forest
tracks or riverbanks. They are particularly good for
collecting wasps, flies, beetles, and bugs.
Sticky traps
Adhesive (paint on or as pre prepared strips)
surface designed to collect insects that may
wander or alight onto the surface and are often
attached to tree trunks or attached to poles
amongst crops (see phot below right). Although
not widely used for general insect collecting
(hard to handle and easy to damage insects in
the process of removing them), they can be
good for capturing flies, wasps and beetles, as
well as other flying insects ants and other
flightless inhabitants of tree trunks. A yellow
substrate (card or plastic) is often used to
attract insects.
Pheromone Traps
They are Used for pest monitoring, these traps attract
insects with a specific chemical lure based on the sex
pheromone of a particular species. They therefore
generally only trap one sex of one species, usually males.
They are usually designed with a sticky surface around
the chemical lure so that numbers of individuals can be
estimated. Trap designs include pots and shelters, so that
trapped insects are not destroyed by rain. Pheromone
traps can quickly attract large numbers of species that are
not evident from general collecting, such as the sweet
potato weevil, Cylas formicarius (Coleoptera: Brentidae).
Aspirator
An aspirator, also known as a pooter, is a
device used in the collection of
insects, crustaceans or other small,
fragile organisms, usually for scientific
purposes.