Biology Insect Collection
Purpose:
To develop an awareness of the ecological system in which we live.
To develop the ability to classify and organize organisms according to various characteristics.
Procedure:
Step 1:
Over the summer start collecting insects!
o Keep a plastic baggie or small cup on hand as insects can be found virtually anywhere at any
given point in time.
o The more “places” or habitats you visit to collect insects, the larger the variety of insects you will
find.
o You may also “actively” collect insects by making traps (directions for many easy insect traps
can be found using “Google”), running a butterfly net through grassy areas, and looking in
shady, cool, and moist areas (such as under rocks and logs).
o Remember, an insect is an invertebrate with an exoskeleton, six jointed legs, three body regions
(head, thorax, and abdomen), one pair of antennae, and two, four, or no wings.
Step 2:
Once you have caught your insects, you need to preserve them until it is time to pin them.
o You may place your insects in the freezer until you are ready to pin them.
o You may cover the insect with rubbing alcohol for a few hours (this does not work well with
butterflies and moths). Using this method, you must pin the insect before it gets “crunchy”.
o You may place a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, insecticide, or fingernail polish remover
in the bottom of a glass with a piece of cardboard above the cotton ball and the insect above the
cardboard. (Again, using this method you must pin the insect shortly after.)
o You may spray the insect with an insecticide. (This will also kill any parasites that may be living
on your insect).
Step 3:
Properly pin your insect.
o If you would like to begin pinning your insects during the summer, download the Guide to
Pinning Insects from the class webpage http://www.choteauschools.net/hs/jhscience/inscoll.htm)
and follow the directions contained in it to properly pin your insects.
o We will also complete a lab on insect pinning when you return to school if you would rather wait
to pin your insects (just make sure you keep them frozen or in rubbing alcohol so they do not get
crunchy or moldy).
o It is easiest to pin your insects on a piece of covered Styrofoam and then place the Styrofoam
into your insect collection box or move the insects from your “pinning Styrofoam” into your
collection box after they are pinned.
Step 4:
For each insect, provide the following information on small square pieces of paper (identification tags),
and place the tags on the insect pin below the insect so that they can be clearly read.
a. Tag 1 (top tag)
i. Common name
b. Tag 2 (bottom tag)
1. Locality of collection (town, county, state, etc.)
ii. Date of collection
iii. Name of collector
Step 5:
Organize your insects in an “insect collection box” according to the order in which they belong.
o Your collection box may be purchased, home-made, or simply a Tupperware container, shoe
box, wooden box, etc. However, it must have a clear cover to protect your insects.
o Each order within your collection must be clearly grouped and have a label.
o The heads of all insects should point towards the top of your collection box when the short sides
of the box are on the left and right.
Guidelines/Grading:
You must have at least 25 different insects in at least 5 orders. 1 extra credit point will be given for each
(different) insect above twenty-five and 3 extra credit points will be given for each extra order, up to 25 extra
credit points. The grade for your collection will be considered a test grade. (See the attached grading sheet for
specifics.)
Due Date:
Your collection will be due on Monday, October 21st 2013. No late collections will be accepted.