Guidelines for Preparing Insect Collection for Mr. Aschen's Seventh Grade Science Class
Due: First Monday of May Harlen E. Aschen, Victoria Christian School
ALWAYS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!! CHECK OFTEN!
Spring wildflowers and gardens are going strong now. Second generation monarchs are
northbound thru Texas! After cold and wet Feb and March, it continues to rain on weekends!
Introduction:
Why prepare an insect collection? At least for this class, a few good reasons:
(1) There is no better way to know the insects (as required in Chapter 11) than to observe some,
collect them, identify them using quality field guides, preserve them, and display them.
(2) Specimen curation is an essential and asethic part of studying natural history. Preparing a
collection has allowed biologists and interested individuals to learn about insects and their diversity
over the ages. (3) An insect collection is an essential tool in the study of entomology for beginner
as well as professional. (4) No one can know insects so well that he/she can recognize every
species on sight. A well-curated insect collection becomes a valuable reference tool. In the United
States there are several major, national insect collections of historic importance. These include the
American Museum of Natural History in New York, Academy of Sciences in Berkeley, and the
largest, the U.S. National Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In Texas
there are regional and state collections kept at universities and by individuals. A properly curated
specimen may be more important than all the photos of it in the world. (5) Searching for and
gathering insects will become a family project. Transportation and chaperoning will need
to be provided by parents or other responsible adults. The preparation of the specimens and
providing for their display could lead to some quality time together, sometimes called family
togetherness. (6) An insect collection is an essential part of our spring study of insects in the
seventh grade. Chapter 11 in our science text spends many pages on the "how-to" of an insect
collection starting on page 408.
Collection Requirements: (The number may vary with the grade level! This was for 8th, 2004.)
1. As a requirement for this class, you will prepare a collection of exactly forty (40) insect specimens
of different or distinct species from the general area of Victoria County and adjacent counties.
Include a sheet listing all the specimens and their identification (by orders). The collection is worth
a triple grade the last nine weeks.
2. The forty (40) mature specimens must be from no more than four (4) different insect orders. The
highest points possible would be for the forty insects all from the same order.
3. The collection may include a male and female pair of the same species for butterflies but there
must be still be forty distinct species displayed.
4. All specimens must be intact, pinned, and displayed in a manner appropriate for that Order. For
example Lepidoptera must be pinned through the thorax with wings spread while Coleoptera should
be pinned through the anterior half of the right elytron (see textbook and field guides for guidelines).
5. All specimens must be labeled with a label card that gives your (collector's) name, city, county,
state, date, scientific name, and common name. The card is to be printed by you using a black pin.
The card should be half a 3"x5" card and include:
(pin) scientific name Use a black pen and hand
your name or common name letter on half a 3"x5" card
city, county, TX date (pin) must be moveable when
scientific name your name insect is picked up by the pin
common name city county, TX, date and moved to another spot.
6. The collection is to be displayed in a "tray" that will hold the entire collection. Sides of the tray
are to extend at least 3" above the floor ... width between 24" and 26" and length between 28" and
36". Cardboard with a foam or double bottom or foamboard cut to make a shallow tray work well.
A large corrugated cardboard box cut off to leave a tray to dimensions works well. The double
bottom or foam bottom makes it easier to insert the pins.
7. You are not to display specimens that have been purchased (no trips to ebay!). Since the insects
are to be taken from the seven county area this usually isn't a problem. You must have been directly
involved with collecting, preparing, identifying, and displaying at least 35 of the insects you display.
You are not to include any insects collected and used in a class project of previous years. Insects
displayed are to have been captured during the current school year or the previous summer. You
may trade amongst yourselves, but no more than *five (5) traded insects. You may display insects
given you by friends of the family or relatives, but no more than *five (5) gift insects. *The
combination of traded or gift insects is not to exceed five (5). The ID or label card for any traded
or gift insect is to have all the information taken by the true collector, including their name.
8. Don't get yourself (or others) arrested!!! You are responsible for knowing ( = learning) where
you can and cannot legally collect insects. You absolutely cannot collect in national parks or wildlife
refuges. Mostly, this shouldn't be a problem, just be forewarned. When in doubt, get permission!
Collecting from flowers in nurseries and community gardens is a "no, no". Is it wrong to collect
insects? Not hardly, remember these critters show something is going right in nature for you to be
able to get up close and collect. "In principle" you could impact a species with very low numbers in
a very restricted habitat, but unless you are working in such an area, your collecting has no impact
... some of the leading entomologists in the state keep reassuring me on this point. If a very rare
insect does show up in an the area, the entomologists would want a voucher specimen ... IF it has
been carefully prepared and documented.
9. On a related point ... can insects feel pain? I am told (again by leading entomologists) that they
can probably "feel", but "what", with their limited neurological system, is a question you can work
on in another dozen years. Kill your insects as quickly as possible and with dignity and avoid
inflicting any unnessary "pain".
10. You may ask me about the identification or to confirm an identification of no more than two
insects before the due date with no points taken off. I usually forget such requests made more than
two weeks before the due date. When you ask be sure you have a very good idea ... this usually
means you are "torn" between two insects that have similiar markings/characters. Some insects
(esp. butterflies) will have seasonal as well as wet/dry, cold/warm, male/female variations of
markings/colors. With just the butterflies, there is no single field guide that pictures every variation.
11. There are penalties for incorrect identifications. So, you might not want to make a collection
of obscure flies and parasitic wasps. For each improperly identified insect 5 points off (minus five)
the final grade of the project; for any incorrectly identified order10 points off (minus ten) the final
grade. When in doubt ask!
REMEMBER -- You can reduce the total number of insects by bringing in LIVE monarchs you
have captured! Remember to place each monarch in a small mail envelope and put in the the
refridgerator as soon as possible ... NOT in the freezer ... but on shelf you might keep the milk jug.
Formula on "post" in classroom -- NOT one for one! Late Oct-early Nov, Late March thruApril.
Some Suggestions:
You will need to obtain collecting and curating equipment that you need. Killing jar: get
some ethyl acetate (fingernail polish remover) and a plastic, wide-mouth jar (JIF peanut butter jar) to
make your killing jar for most insects (text page 408 or Peterson's). Hard bodied insects may be
placed directly into a vial or small jar isopropyl alcohol. Hairy (bees and flies) or brightly color
colored insects should not go into the alcohol. Leps will lose scales if they are not carefully handled.
Of course you will need an insect net (text page 409 or Peterson's -- make your own!). Some
small envelopes will serve to hold your leps if you are out and about for long.
1. Process your specimens as soon as you can after collecting and before you forget where and
when you got them. Pinning right after collecting will best preserve the color and make it easy to
position winds, legs, and antennae -- remember wings of leps are to be spread. Never leave
specimens exposed to warm, moist air (sounds like the Texas coast!) or they will mold. Be sure no
ants get to your specimen during the winter! Freezing might work for keeping your insects for a
period of time, allow time for thawing.
2. If going for leps in the spring you may need several killing jars, be sure and label properly.
3. If collecting grassoppers be sure and have tissue paper in the killing jars -- they often "spit up"
and stain the jar. Wipe out the killing jars between specimens. Leps will lose some scales and the
next insect may become "fuzzy".
4. Kill dragonflies and damselflies with a large killing jar but remove them when dead and store
in envelopes so their wings don't become damaged.
5. Putting butterflies in a killing jar with some tissue (so they don't beat up their wings) might work
for you, then place them in a small envelope (try and find the "glassine" envelopes that coin and
stamp collectors use).
6. Give yourself lots of time for spreading butterflies and moths (this is where an extra pair of hands
might help). It takes lots of patience and a clear head to do a good job with leps (some of that
quality time with a friend or family member around the dining table late into the night). The Peterson's
field guide has a long discussion with drawings on this topic. It will help to have fine pins (the long
stainless pins that are for silk might work), smooth strips for holding the wings in place, and very
"relaxed" specimens. The sooner you spread the wings, the better.
7. Take your field guide with you so you can get a reasonable idea of what you are collecting
Some take their field guides plus a field notebook and keep notes about behavior, habitat, and
plant involved.
Collecting and Preserving Insects (Also see your textbook, websites, and various field guides)
There are many techniques for collecting insects:
1. Aerial net -- the "standard" way to collect insects is by using an aerial net (mentioned above
and in text and various field guides). This type of net can be used to catch flying inects and those
perched on flowers, weeds, grasses, etc.
2. Sweep net -- stouter, stronger version of above, short handle and stronger material for the bag.
3. Traps -- can be left and checked later, mentioned in field guides.
4. Light traps -- especially good for night flying insects ... moths!
Listen in class and I will let you know when the "critters" in the world of insects begin to stir this
spring. If there is no late February or early March freeze we should begin to see insects when
gardens, flowerbeds, and the stands of wildflowers get their new spring growth. The best of the
wildflowers are usually the last week of March and the first three weeks in April. If you are
collecting butterflies, find stands of native wildflowers that you can get to and safely collect over.
Remember that DeWitt County is the Wildflower Capital of Texas. You need to have your
chaperone take you on a driving tour to locate roads that have areas where they can park in safety
and you can roam without fear of traffic. After the first of April the DeWitt County Wildflower
Association will have maps of the county roads with good wildflower areas marked. Their location
is between Hunt Street (first light coming into Cuero) and McD's ... on the right ... marked during
April ... look for white picket fence on the right. They also gather wildflowers every morning and
have them in water in vases with identification cards ... treat your mother to a short stop there!
*Sites with ideas, suggestions, hints, and general information on an insect collections:
Field Guides and Reference Guides: You need something to help with ID'ing --
Butterflies through Binoculars - The West, Glassberg, Oxford ... Victoria on East/West line!
Butterflies through Binoculars - The East, Glassberg, Oxford FG
Butterflies of Houston and Southeast Texas, Tveten, University of Texas Press FG for area
Peterson Field Guide Series:
A Field Guide to Western Butterflies, Opler/Wright, Houghton Mifflin FG
A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies, Opler, Houghton Mifflin FG
Moths of Eastern North America, FG
Insects, Borror/White, Houghton Mifflin FG
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, Pyle, Knopf FG
Eyewitness Handbooks:
Butterflies and Moths, Carter/Greenaway, DK Publishing RG
Insects RG
Golden Guides:
Guide to Butterflies and Moths RG
Insects, Simon & Shuster: Insects RG
Learn about Texas Insects, Chris Durden, University of Texas Press RG, covers Texas Insects!
Will have a copy to share with class.
FG = Field Guides ... may help with ID's, but do not include every butterfly for an area nor every color
variation of cold/warm weather, dry/wet seasons, etc. And there are thousands of beetles
and true bugs that are yet to be included! There are always "unidentifieds" lurking out there, but
a good, quick photo emailed to the UT Museum, A&M, or Corpus usually gets us a quick ID.
For the expressed use of my seventh grade students at Victoria Christian School!
Other than for the use by my students, may not be reproduced. This will always be
a work in progress so check for updates. Mr. A.
Some old, some new, some borrowed!
Photos and website by Harlen E. and Altus Aschen
Copyright (c) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Harlen E. Aschen
This page was last updated on: May 9, 2005
