Tips on how to start a bug collection?

Question

I want to start a bug collection, but I know nothing so if anyone can give me some advice/tips that would be great.

I live in Arizona so there are a lot of interesting bugs where I live... Except I'm not exactly sure how to catch them. Do I spray them with bug spray? Capture them and let them die out? Just find them dead? etc.

I already have some basic bugs for a starting point (locust, dragon fly, Carpenter Bee, Chinese Beetle, June Beetle). I found them all dead...

And do I have to know a lot about bugs to start a collection? I don't really know a lot.

Answer 1

Hi Legend,



You remind me of my old friend, Neil Addes. He began a bug collection years ago, when he was nine. Now it is huge, and he even has a cellar full of them.



I am not a collector myself, but I know that Neil got his supplies from a local hobby shop initially, then later switched to an online site somewhere on the web. You know, mounting boards, pins, labels, etc. He even has some of his more prized collections mounted in glass frames and placed on the wall in his den.



Neil just picked up most bugs with his bare hands. However, he told me some bugs had a terrible scent when picked up, that was hard to get off...sorta like a skunk. So, in that case he just used a long handled paint brush and would "whisk" them into a bag or bottle.



I don't know much about killing them, but I do know that Neil had some sort of chemical that he used, placed on cotton and put in the bottom of a bottle, with a perforated piece of plastic on top of the cotton. He would place the bug in the bottle, put on the cap, and then go about his usual business. Then he would come back later and remove the dead bug and mount it.



I just did a quick little search for you and came up with (thousands actually) quite a few websites devoted to bug collection, that you might find interesting. Here they are:



http://www.hometrainingtools.com/insect-collecting-supplies/c/140/



http://educationalscience.com/entokits.htm



http://www.ehow.com/how_2042260_put-together-bug-collecting-kit.html



http://www.bohartmuseum.com/insect-collecting-kit.html



I remember that when Neil started out collecting bugs, he knew nothing about them. But, his mother gave him a big insect book for Christmas and he used it well. He copied down the genus and species names, and carefully printed out labels for each bug. Some he had trouble with, since he thought they were one type, but as it turned out, they were a close resemblance to another "cousin" of the same size and appearance, so he learned to be careful!



He also learned as he went along...



Now Neil, like me, is in his late fifties. He has traveled to Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, Ecuador, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and many other countries looking for special insects for his collection. He is a member of several entomology organizations, and has been approached by other collectors and even museums for information or specimens.



I hope this information helped you out and I hope you enjoy your new hobby!



-Jeeem-

Answer 2

Well, there are several things you can do. With a lot of insects you can just put them in the freezer for a while, but some species will reanimate later so that doesn't always work. You can also get a killing jar that uses ethyl acetate or cyanide. The cyanide jars are quicker and more humane but they're also more dangerous to people so ethyl acetate is probably your best bet right now. They usually have a chamber in the cover of the jar that's full of cotton or made of plaster and treated with the poison. However, if your teacher hasn't provided you with anything and since you're only doing this for a basic biology class it would probably be fine to make a slightly less complicated killing jar. You can put a damp sponge or something similar in the bottom of the jar and cover that with a later of cotton and a tissue or paper towel on top of that for the insect to sit on. You'll want to use a fair amount if you're using ethyl acetate as it's not that strong. You can also put insects in the freezer first to slow them down before transferring them to the killing jar. This is probably a better idea in the case of things like dragonflies and butterflies and other things that can damage their wings if they're flying around too much in the jar before they die. That's what I do when I'm home usually. Anyway, those are just a few suggestions I have to go but if I think of anything else I'll let you know. Good luck.

Answer 3

No need to know a bunch about insects to collect them. After all, insect collections are primarily learning and teaching tools. My college level class in entomology (the study of insects) had as its first requirement, an insect collection which was to be prepared the summer BEFORE actually taking the class. All you need to get started is an insect net (any fine mesh net will do, attached in the shape of a wind sock with a 2-2.5 foot mouth to the end of a 3 to 5 ft pole), an assortment of old cigar boxes (jewelry or shoe boxes also work fine), some 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick Styrofoam type plastic sheets (or similar material) to line the bottom of the boxes, a bunch of straight pins ( to attach the insects to the plastic liners), some labeling material like construction paper, and a fine lead pencil. The last two are going to be used to hand print labels to pin to the liner along with the insect you've just identified.



The net will be used whenever you run into something that looks interesting, but will likely produce its most remarkable results by simply sweeping it through tall vegetation, tree leaves, even pond water. While any of those may be sparse in many parts of Arizona (wish is a partial explanation for so many insects being visible to casual observers), with a little imagination and ingenuity you'll be turning up many of the hundreds of species of insects you don't even suspect exist right now, but will soon be prominent members of your collection.



Once caught in the net, keep them there by flipping the net so that the tail of the sock is caught under the rim of the net. Tap the net until most of its contents fall to the very bottom. Carefully open the net to see what you've caught and empty the contents into any air tight container (a screw cap mason jar works well, but so does a zip-lock bag). Don't forget to separate the big guys and any of those you suspect as predators. These will need their own 'killing jar' or you'll end up with a collection of insect predators and no insect prey. Its amazing how voracious some appetites get while waiting to succumb to the lack of air in a mason jar (wadded tissue in the bottom of the jar will speed the process by displacing some of the volume in the jar). Its best to leave the captures in the jar for a good hour, or so after they stopped moving to make sure they don't recover while you're trying to pin them to the Styrofoam liners.



You're going to want to place the straight pins through the thickest part of the insect's thorax for most of your specimens. That's the middle bulge on most insects just behind the head, where any wings are connected. Doing the pinning while they are surely dead, but still relaxed will save a lot of messing with relaxing chambers and trying to spread stiff wings. As you get more proficient, you'll figure out ways to spread the wings using strips of paper and pins to hold them flat and natural on two pieces of thick cardboard lined up on either side of the insect body. In a few hours, all but the largest of your specimens will stiffen into what ever shape you pin them. Good luck!

Answer 4

Make sure that whatever box you keep them in is accompanied by some cedar oil or chips or moth balls. My grandmother lost her vast collection to insects that ate the specimens. Heart breaking. She had moths & butterflies that are rarely seen any more due to the prevalence of insecticides & habitat loss. Every live on you remove from the wild is one less to breed. Finding dead ones is a moot point. I love insects and find them facsinating. Had a cicropea moth and luna moth in my prairie. Also several preying mantis. Lots of butterflies as I plant only native plants. Red spotted purples, swallowtails, monarchs, viceroys, admirals, blues, checkers. Love it.

Answer 5

Having good shoes for squishing porposes is one important tool you need in you catching kit. A fast tongue helps too.

Answer 6

Are you thinking about working for the CIA?

Answer 7

every time you find a bug outside, keep it

Answer 8

dont do it