Participants are underway with their long-term projects – either a traditional mounted insect collection or a collection of insect photographs – as a part of the Online Entomology Course I am teaching this month. While I have always been interested in insects, I first began insect collecting when I was hired as the elementary science specialist in North Bend. The fifth graders were required to undertake an insect project and I thereby spent the summer immersing myself in insect lore. I became so immersed in the hobby that I continued through the school year and consecutive summers. My students began to call me the Bug Lady.
Student Insect Collecting & Mounting Kit {aff link}
Insect collecting does not require a lot of tools or equipment. Some collectors prefer to collect only specimens they happen upon that have died. Other collectors take the traditional route, collecting live insects that they preserve carefully.
Traditional Insect Collecting
Live insects can be caught with the aid of a net, jar, or by hand. Be careful of those that bite or sting! Insects can then be preserved by:
- Placing the jar in the freezer for approximately 20 minutes, or
- Put a few drops of fingernail polish remover (which contains acetone) or rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and drop it into the jar with your insects. Don’t drown your insect – this makes for a poor specimen.
To mount the insect, put a straight pin through the thorax. Very small insects should be glued to a small triangular piece of paper and then a pin can be put through the center of the paper.
Stick the pin into a display such as a piece of cardboard or Styrofoam. Display your collection in a frame and consider hanging it on the wall. Use your imagination! Using insects in art is a growing art medium, see my earlier post Tiny Footprints, to enjoy the incredible artistry of Pamela Cole.
Alternative Collection Ideas
If you’d rather not do a traditional mount style collection, consider one of the following options.
- Take photographs and display / share your images in an album (either online or in print).
- Keep a field journal and make detailed illustrations of insects you observe in their natural surroundings.
- Set-up a terrarium (either permanent or temporary) and enjoy watching insects in their habitat. Record daily observations of preferred diet, terrain preferences, etc.
- Build a Squidoo lens of your own of the insects you have observed in the wild.
For more information on insect collecting, you may be interested in my HubPage, Bug Collecting. You’ll find detailed information about how to set up a terrarium for insects and well as how to get started with scientific illustration and nature journaling.