COLLECTING INSECTS
     Collecting Equipment
     Trapping Equipment
     Collecting Techniques

PRESERVING INSECTS
     Equipment
     Preservation

Becoming a serious collector
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Job opportunities
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Acknowledgements
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References
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APPENDIX
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Pinning, Standard Pinning Positions, Pointing, Carding, Staging, Labelling, Storage, Wet preservation, Microscope slides

Pinning - Figures 14, 15
Large insects
Insects larger than medium size (house-fly) are pinned directly with no.3 or no.5 pins. No.3 pins are sufficient for most insects in order to minimize the damage to the insect structure. No.5 pins are used only for insects longer than 2 cm. The killing jar is emptied onto a piece of white paper, and individual insects are held between forefinger and thumb to be pinned. The pin is first inserted through the right side of the thorax, until it reaches the lower surface. The pin must then be adjusted, to make sure that it is straight. When seen from the side, the pin should be positioned at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the body. Seen from the front, the pin is positioned at right angles to the transverse axis of the body (Figure 14). Only when the pin has been correctly aligned can it be pushed through the insect until about one-quarter of the pin's length remains above the insect. Use the pinning block (Figure 15) to keep the heights of the insect and labels standard.

Standard Pinning Positions - Figure 16
 

Pinned insects that need their wings spread, can be placed into the groove of the setting board, (Figure 17) making sure that it is vertical when viewed from all sides. Push the pin into the groove until the bases of the wings are level with the top of the board. Strips of tracing paper are placed over the wings on either side of the body and are pinned down just forward of where the forewing will be set (Figure 18).

Arch the paper strip by pushing the finger forward on the end of the paper strip, thus freeing the wings for movement. The wing is moved into position by hooking the tip of a mounted needle behind one of the main wing veins near the fore margin of the wing. The paper strip is then pulled tight and pinned to the board behind the hind margin of the wing to hold it in position. The same procedure is followed for the hind wing and the wings on the right side. The abdomen is supported on a V of pins. Legs and antennae may also be arranged and held in position by pins. With Orders like Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera the edge of the hind wing is set at right angles to the body with the fore wings arranged symmetrically forward. Depending on the temperature, humidity and size, spread specimens may take from one to three weeks to dry thoroughly. If adequate setting time is not allowed, the wings will sag.

Small insects
Insects smaller than a house-fly are either pointed, carded, staged or mounted on microscope slides.

Pointing - Figure 19
The insect is glued to the tip of a triangle of light, white card which is then mounted on a no.5 pin. Use a soluble glue which can be dissolved to remove the specimen again if necessary and always use as small a quantity of glue as possible. To avoid enveloping the whole insect in glue, touch glue to the tip of the triangle and then apply the tip of the triangle to the side of the insect.

Carding
Rectangular pieces of card (14 x 5 mm) are mounted on a no.5 pin and a small strip of glue is applied using the minimum amount of glue for the size of the insect to be mounted. This might be preferable to pointing, as the specimen is protected by the card. The insect is mounted along the card and away from the pin.

Staging - Figure 20
The insect is pinned and spread in the usual way using a small headless pin. the steel is inserted into a stage of polyporous pith mounted on a no.5 pin. The insect is also mounted along the stage facing away from the pin.

Labelling - Figure 21
The most important part of the collecting procedure is labelling the specimens. The label should bear a locality name where the specimen was collected, collector's name and date, with the month in roman numerals and the year written out in full. The label should be as small as possible and preferably not overhang the specimen. Good quality white, stiff card should be used and the data printed in Indian ink, using a drafting pen. A second label can be added for ecological information such as under logs, rain forest etc. Use the pinning block to keep the labels at the standard height.

Storage
A collection of properly dried, pinned insects will last indefinitely if protected from the effects of light, heat, humidity, mould, and attack by other insects. They can be kept in storage boxes or insect drawers. To protect the collection against other insects, such as the museum beetles, a small amount of flake naphthalene or a small block of vapona should be placed in the storage container.

Wet preservation
Adults of soft-bodied insects that include Orthoptera (crickets), Blattodea (cockroaches), Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Isoptera (Termites), Plecoptera (Stoneflies), Trichoptera (Caddisflies) and nymphs can be stored in 70% alcohol, in glass vials with a label bearing collection data written in a pencil, as most inks are dissolved in alcohol.

Microscope slides
Small insects such as Siphonaptera (fleas), Phthiraptera (lice) and Psocoptera (thrips) are treated with potassium hydroxide in solution to dissolve their internal tissue and placed on microscope slides. The procedures involved are detailed and require expensive chemicals and are beyond the scope of the amateur collector. The technique for slide mounting can be found in the reference books below.