INSECT COLLECTING

Insect collecting is one of my favorite things to do. It is fun doing it, but its not just to have fun, its to study and learn more about them. My favorite group of insects are the butterflies and moths. All of them  really have iridescent brown scales on their wings, but when the light reflects on them, they become the beautiful creatures we see fly around our backyards.

 In this post I wanted to talk a little bit about insect collecting.

This is a link to the kit that I have:

Insect Collecting & Mounting Kit

Step #1. The Net.

 The net is used to catch most of your insects.  Mine is 2' deep and you would want to have one at least this deep...the deeper and wider, the better. When you see one and are about to swing, try and sweep in on it from above. As soon as it is in the net,  quickly either put it on the ground or fold it over. Either way works just fine, although, I fold it.

Step #2. R.I.P.

For this you only need a jar with plaster or a cotton-ball and poison. Just "load" your jar with the poison and drop your bug into his chamber of doom.

Step #3. Preserving

Fold a butterfly or moths wings together and slide into a glassine envelope. It should stay good like that for a surprisingly long time, up to 60 years! Use Vapor tape to preserve pinned and processed insects. 

Step #4. Labeling, pinning and drying.

 Use tweezers to spread wings (if it has any) and slide a pin through its thorax (middle part between head and abdomen). Spread its wings with wax-paper an a board made for this purpose. On one label write the place and date of capture along with capturer's name. On another write latin and common names.

These are some of the butterflies and moths that I have collected and processed.

POST BY ETHAN

Insect Collecting & Mounting Kit