Page 257 - Florida Pest Control Examinations

COLLECTING INSECTS
By Frank Lorey

In the business of pest control, you will find many pests that draw your interest—first in identify-
ing them, and when you find that some are not so common, then possibly in making an insect
collection. Here are some simple ideas to get your collection started.

You may want to keep a bottle along with you while going about your work. You will have many
opportunities to add to your collection during the day. At home, you can leave a porch light on,
especially during the summer, and see what insects are drawn to it. Pool filters will also screen
out numerous insects, although some will be damaged. Once you have caught the insect, it
can be easily killed without damage by putting it into your freezer. Put a portion of a paper
towel into the jar so that the insect has something to cling to—it will make your job easier for
mounting them.

Basic supplies that you will need include: stainless steel pins of various sizes, minutens (stain-
less steel pins without heads for use on very small insects), polyporous pith or card triangles
for very small insects, glue, a setting board, and a display case. The cases are often avail-
able at hobby stores, and have a glass top for viewing. You may have to call around to find
the other supplies, and make your own mounting card triangles. The glue can be any water-
soluble type.

Once the insect is dead, it should be dried on the setting board. The board can be made of
styrofoam, wood, or even cork. Various sized grooves should be made in it to allow different
sized insect bodies to rest in them while the wings are stretched out during the drying pro-
cess. Wings can be held in the position that you desire by placing pins around the edges—not
through the wing itself, and held down with tracing paper. The insect should have the correct
pin placed through the thorax—a medium sized insect should use a #3 size pin. Do not use a
pin that is so large it will damage the body of the insect. It is also desirable to pin and dry the
insect within 24 hours after it has died. It may take 1-3 weeks for an insect to completely dry
out, depending upon the humidity.

Small insects require specially sized small minutens (pins), and the smallest will need to be
mounted on small triangles using glue, or using polyporous pith strips that are cut to size.
Pinned insects should have about 1/4th inch of the pin sticking out from the top, while the glued
insects will have no pin showing—the card triangle or polyporous pith strip will be flush with the
top of the pin. Use the smallest amount of glue possible. Before you glue it, you may wish to
experiment with dark and light cards to see which makes the insect stand out better.

Once the insect is mounted, you need to label it properly for display in the case. The label
should tell the insect’s common name, scientific name (if desired), location where caught, and
the date when caught. The data may be attached with the mounting pin, or above or below the
insect. The collection will look better if they are all displayed in the same manner.

Your collection will grow quite rapidly at first, so keep the necessary supplies readily avail-
able. Once the common insects have been collected, you will take pride in finding ones that
are more rare. It can become a quite enjoyable hobby! Keep your collection away from direct
sunlight, moisture, and heat. Keep the display case tightly closed as there are many insects
that are known to attack insect collections.

257