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HOW TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE INSECTS
HOW TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE INSECTS
H. H. ROSS Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION George Sprugel, Jr., Chief Circular 39 Urbana November, 1966 (Eighth Printing) STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION John C. Watson , Chairman ; Thomas Park , Ph.D., Biology ; L. L. Sloss , Ph.D., Geology ; Roger Adams , Ph.D., D.Sc., Chemistry ; Robert H. Anderson , B.S.C.E., Engineering ; Charles E. Olmsted , Ph.D., Forestry ; W. L. Everitt ,
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WHERE TO COLLECT
WHERE TO COLLECT
In late spring, in summer, and in early fall, insects are very abundant in fields and woods, and large numbers of them may be caught by sweeping through the grass and branches with a strong insect net. Flowers of all descriptions are favorite visiting places of many bees, flies, beetles, and other insects, and will afford good collecting. Woods along the banks of streams, open glades in deep woods, and brush along forest edges offer some of the best opportunities for collecting by the sweeping m
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Nets
Nets
Nets are the most important items in the collecting kit of the entomologist. For this reason nets should be rigidly constructed and handled with care. Construction. —Nets may easily be made at home. The necessary parts are a handle, a loop or ring to be attached to it, and a cloth bag to be hung from the loop, figs. 1 and 2 . The handle should be strong and fairly light. At the net end, fig. 1 a , a groove is cut down each side to receive the arms of the loop. The grooves are as deep as the thic
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Killing Bottles
Killing Bottles
The best killing agents for use in bottles are either potassium cyanide or calcium cyanide. These compounds give a concentration of deadly fumes sufficient to kill most insects in a very short time, which is desirable. Generally, two sizes of bottles are used, and in either of them one of these cyanides may give good results. Only a small supply should be purchased at a time, as they deteriorate rapidly. Construction. —A pyrex glass test tube or strong ring-necked vial, about three-quarters inch
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Aspirators or Suckers
Aspirators or Suckers
Small, rapidly moving insects, such as leafhoppers, diminutive beetles, and flies, may be collected by using an aspirator or sucker, figs. 4 and 5 . Construction. —An aspirator can be made from a capsule vial (available from a drugstore) or from a piece of glass tubing. A small olive bottle may be substituted for the vial. The following items are needed for the vial aspirator, fig. 4 : a vial, 1¼ inches in diameter and 3 or more inches long, a two-hole rubber stopper with openings to fit one-fou
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Sifter
Sifter
Perhaps no special collecting method results in more interesting, rare, and diverse kinds of insects than that involved in sifting rotten logs, leaf mold, and other forest and prairie ground cover. To do this type of collecting, provide yourself with the following: 1. A stout sifting sieve about 12 by 12 inches and 4 to 6 inches deep, fig. 6 . The bottom may be wire screen of any desired mesh; usually 8, 10, or 12 meshes to the inch give good results. 2. A sturdy piece of white oilcloth about 18
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Berlese Funnel
Berlese Funnel
When you are wandering through woods or fields, do you realize that you are stepping on more insects than you ever see? The ground cover and soil are inhabited by a vast assemblage of little animals that are seldom seen by the casual collector. Because many of these animals are exceedingly minute, they are difficult to see and collect by ordinary methods. Construction. —The most efficient method for collecting this fauna is by the use of Berlese funnels, named after the Italian entomologist Berl
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Equipment for Collecting Aquatic Insects
Equipment for Collecting Aquatic Insects
Hundreds of different kinds of insects are aquatic and offer rich collecting possibilities. In all instances, the immature stage lives in water, but in most of them the adult stage emerges on land or flies in the air. For this reason several types of collecting are needed to obtain a good sampling of aquatic insects. Night Collecting of Adult Insects. —Collecting at lights on warm, cloudy nights, or warm nights without moonlight, gives best results. Two simple methods are as follows: Drive your
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Temporary Cases
Temporary Cases
If it is not convenient to mount the specimens when they are taken from the killing bottle, the moths and butterflies should be put in papers and other insects in cellucotton. Papers are simply rectangular strips of paper of convenient size folded as in fig. 9 . A moth or butterfly, with its wings folded, is placed in a paper, the edges of which are then crimped over to lock it shut. For insects other than moths or butterflies, cardboard pillboxes containing cellucotton make good temporary housi
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Relaxing Boxes and Jars
Relaxing Boxes and Jars
At any desired time the dry specimens may be relaxed and mounted. A relaxing box or jar is easily made. In the bottom of a wide-mouthed jar with a screw-on lid, put an inch or two of clean sand; saturate the sand with water containing a small amount of phenol (carbolic acid) and place over it a piece of cork, cardboard, or wood cut to fit the jar. Place the dry specimens on the cork or other material, and cover the jar tightly with the screw-on lid. The lid must be practically airtight. In a day
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Preservation by Pinning
Preservation by Pinning
Hard-bodied insects, such as beetles, flies, and wasps, are preserved as dry specimens on pins better than in fluid. The pinned specimens are more convenient to study and they retain their natural coloring better. Flies and butterflies are covered with hairs or scales that clot or break off if the specimens are preserved in fluid, and for this reason they should be pinned. Fig. 11.—Pinning. Medium- to hard-shelled insects are mounted by being pinned through the body in the manner shown at a . Th
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Spreading Board for Moths and Butterflies
Spreading Board for Moths and Butterflies
Moths and butterflies should have their wings spread before being put into the collection. To do this well, it is necessary to have spreading boards that are accurately made but that are not necessarily complicated or expensive. Construction. —A convenient board for medium-sized insects can be made at home of the following materials: Nail the top pieces to the ends so that the slanting surfaces of the tops are uppermost and the narrower edges parallel and one-quarter inch apart, fig. 16 . Glue o
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Preservation in Fluid
Preservation in Fluid
Caterpillars and other immature stages of insects should be preserved in 80 per cent grain alcohol. Caterpillars, grubs, and maggots should first be heated 5 to 10 minutes in water just at the boiling point. This treatment sterilizes the specimens and prevents their discoloration by bacteria in the digestive system. Many soft-bodied adult insects, including bristletails, springtails, stoneflies, and caddisflies, also should be preserved in fluid. If pinned, they shrivel to such an extent that fe
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HOW TO LABEL THE SPECIMENS
HOW TO LABEL THE SPECIMENS
To be useful to the entomologist and others interested in the scientific relations of insects, as well as to furnish the collector with a complete record of his hours in the field and make more valuable the work he has already accomplished, the specimens should be labeled. The important information to be put on the label of each specimen is the locality and date of capture, but greater scientific value will be attached to the specimen by adding the name of the collector and the host on which the
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Insect Boxes
Insect Boxes
Several satisfactory types of boxes for housing insect specimens may be bought from commercial supply companies. These are usually much better than boxes of home construction, being more nearly dustproof and pestproof. Homemade boxes, however, are quite practical for the beginning collector, due to their ease of construction and extremely low cost. Cigar boxes 2 inches deep or more make ideal insect boxes if a layer of cork or balsa wood or two layers of soft, corrugated cardboard are glued in t
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Precaution Against Pests
Precaution Against Pests
Certain insects, such as flour beetles and carpet beetles, feed upon dried insects, and unless precautions are taken these may entirely destroy a collection. To guard against them, various chemical repellents may be placed in the boxes containing specimens. Naphthalene, of which ordinary mothballs are composed, is one of the best repellents. A few mothballs may be put in a cloth bag pinned securely in one corner of the box, or the heads of common pins may be inserted into naphthalene mothballs,
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THE INSECT WORLD
THE INSECT WORLD
When the insects have been collected, mounted or preserved, and labeled, the next step is to identify or name them. This is no easy task, because there are so many different kinds of insects. In the whole world there are well over 1 million different kinds and in Illinois alone probably 20,000 different kinds. The identification of insects is simplified somewhat by the fact that many species are closely related and can be classified into a number of major groups. Insects as a whole constitute wh
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HOW TO IDENTIFY SPECIMENS
HOW TO IDENTIFY SPECIMENS
As an aid to the beginner in making preliminary identification of his specimens and also as an aid in arranging his collection, a short descriptive synopsis of the orders of living insects is given below. In this description are noted the most distinctive features of the common insects occurring in Illinois. There are rare and obscure forms, seldom met by the collector, that require a more technical key for their identification; for these the collector will need to consult some of the more nearl
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Primitive Wingless Insects
Primitive Wingless Insects
Only five orders of primitive wingless insects are known; species of each order occur in Illinois. These orders represent the stages in insect evolution before wings had appeared. Fig. 21.—Diplura. A campodeid belonging to the genus Campodea , found under stones in moist places. Actual length of adult about 0.1 inch. (Drawing from E. O. Essig.) Fig. 22.—Protura. Acerentulus barberi , a proturan found on sticks and leaves in the leaf mold of forests. Actual length of adult about 0.02 inch. (Drawi
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Primitive Winged Insects
Primitive Winged Insects
The primitive winged insects cannot fold their wings, which in repose are held erect over the body or straight out from the sides, as illustrated in figs. 26 and 29 . Although many types of these insects lived in bygone ages, only two orders have survived to the present. Both occur abundantly in Illinois. A group of insects in which the nymphs or young live in streams and lakes; the adults are found along the edges of the streams or lakes from which they have emerged. Mayflies are unique in that
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Folding-Wing Insects
Folding-Wing Insects
Almost all insects in this category can fold their wings in repose back over their bodies, as illustrated in fig. 31 . A few kinds, notably some of the moths and butterflies, have lost this wing action and in repose hold their wings erect. In some of these kinds, the male is winged and the female is wingless; in others, certain generations may be wingless and others winged; and, in still others, the species may be wingless in all stages. No members of the orders of folding-wing insects molt afte
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Isopoda Sowbugs, Pillbugs
Isopoda Sowbugs, Pillbugs
Convex, many-legged animals having conspicuous antennae; several of the posterior segments short and joined rather closely to form an abdomen. Of the Illinois forms, about one-half are aquatic, living in streams and ponds. The others live in terrestrial situations that are humid and dark. They are frequently found under boards and in soil in greenhouses. One species of this group is Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille), fig. 68 , which possesses the ability to curl up in a hard shell-like ball when
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Amphipoda Small Water Shrimps
Amphipoda Small Water Shrimps
Humpbacked, many-legged crustaceans, fig. 69 , that are, unlike the isopods, flattened from side to side like the fleas. They are all aquatic but are seldom found swimming in open water; they prefer to live in tangled masses of vegetation, under stones or logs, and among debris in the very shallow water where it touches the bank. These little shrimps are never more than about one-half inch long and are frequently collected in large numbers along with aquatic beetles. As is the case with the aqua
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Scorpionida Scorpions
Scorpionida Scorpions
Animals belonging to the spider group; characterized by a pair of stout pincers at the end of each front leg and a long tail-like extension of the abdomen ending in a sharp sting, as in Centruroides vittatus (Say), fig. 70 . They have fairly long bodies and five pairs of legs each, including the chelate pair. During the day they live under stones and bark, moving about at night in search of insects and other small organisms on which they prey. Many species occur in the Southwest; the range of on
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Pseudoscorpionida Pseudoscorpions
Pseudoscorpionida Pseudoscorpions
Animals belonging to the spider group; characterized by a pair of stout pincers at the end of the front legs, as in Larca granulata (Banks), fig. 71 . They have short, stout bodies, each with five pairs of legs including the chelate front pair, but unlike the true scorpions they have no tails or stings. The pseudoscorpions are sometimes found indoors in old books, looking for their prey of small insects. They occur in greater numbers in wooded areas. Fig. 71.—Pseudoscorpionida. Larca granulata ,
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Phalangida Daddy Longlegs, Harvestmen
Phalangida Daddy Longlegs, Harvestmen
Spider-like forms, each animal with a short, round body and four pairs of walking legs that in most species are very long, fig. 72 . They occur chiefly in woods and may be found in numbers walking over foliage and logs; they are often found on bluffs and in shady places. They feed on decaying humus. A few Illinois forms that occur chiefly on bark have considerably shorter legs than the species that range more widely. Fig. 72.—Phalangida. A common harvestman or daddy longlegs. Actual length of bo
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Araneida Spiders
Araneida Spiders
Varied and well-known animals, each with four pairs of walking legs and a body divided into a cephalothorax (which combines the head and thorax) and abdomen. The spiders present a tremendous variety of shapes, some being round and fat, like the black widow, Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius), fig. 73 , others being long and slender, mimicking ants. Others are crablike in shape; some that are long and slender are extremely rapid in their movements. Spiders appear practically everywhere. Certain spec
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Acarina Ticks, Mites
Acarina Ticks, Mites
Animals somewhat like the spiders but having no marked division between the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Each adult has four pairs of walking legs, although an individual of the very young stages has only three pairs. The mites are generally very minute and seldom are seen by the beginning collector. They vary greatly in general appearance. Many species are extremely destructive to stored produce, to live domestic animals, and to many groups of plants. Adults of the harvest mite and early stag
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Diplopoda Millipedes
Diplopoda Millipedes
Fig. 75.—Diplopoda. Parajulus impressus , a common Illinois millipede. Actual length 1.5 inches. Fig. 76.—Chilopoda. Scutigera forceps , the house centipede, commonly found in dark basements. Actual length of body 1.0 inch. Fig. 77.—Chilopoda. A common type of woodland centipede found in leaf mold and rotten logs. Actual length 1.0 inch. (Drawing from R. E. Snodgrass.) Elongate animals each having a distinct head and a long, many-segmented body with two pairs of legs on every segment. The common
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Chilopoda Centipedes
Chilopoda Centipedes
Elongate animals, similar in general appearance to the millipedes but with only one pair of legs on each body segment. Many species are predacious, feeding on insects and other small animals in rotten logs and humus. Most familiar to the city dweller is the house centipede, Scutigera forceps Rafinesque, fig. 76 ; this is a common inhabitant of dark places in houses, where it runs about with incredible speed in search of the small insects upon which it feeds. Other species may be encountered unde
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THE STATE INSECT COLLECTION
THE STATE INSECT COLLECTION
Fig. 78.—The Natural Resources Building. This building, on the campus of the University of Illinois, is the home of the Illinois Natural History Survey and houses the state insect collection on the second floor of the west wing. (Photograph from Illinois Geological Survey.) Illinois is one of the very few states that maintain a large research insect collection. This collection is under the care and guidance of the Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification of the Illinois Natural His
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REPORTS ON ILLINOIS INSECTS
REPORTS ON ILLINOIS INSECTS
As a result of the accumulation of material and information in the faunistic collection, the Illinois Natural History Survey has published a number of reports dealing with various groups of insects and other animals in Illinois; other reports in this series are being prepared or planned. These reports are designed primarily for use of the advanced student in zoology and entomology. They contain information regarding the characteristics, habits, and distribution of the various species in the stat
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USEFUL BOOKS
USEFUL BOOKS
A considerable number of books can be of great help to the beginner in naming his specimens. The following are perhaps the most easily used. Others are being published from time to time....
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HOW TO SHIP SPECIMENS
HOW TO SHIP SPECIMENS
Specimens which the collector is unable to name may be sent to specialists or entomological museums for identification. Names and addresses of specialists can be furnished by agricultural agents, teachers, or museum curators. The arrangements under which these specialists will undertake the work vary, but experts often will study well preserved and labeled collections in return for duplicate specimens which they may keep. However, the identification of many insects is so difficult and laborious
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WHERE TO BUY SUPPLIES
WHERE TO BUY SUPPLIES
The following list, by no means complete, contains names and addresses of companies that furnish entomological supplies. Most of these companies will send catalogs and price lists on request....
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