Insect Collection Instructions
Each student will submit an insect collection by the deadline specified in class. The collection must be housed in a mounting case
provided (Max size - 9 x 13 x 2-1/2") (Schmitt boxes or any container that is similar, and specimens must be mounted on insect pins (not
ordinary household straight pins) See the Guide to Mounting Insects on Pins and also the Diagram of Pinning Locations to learn
the correct way to handle different types of insects.
Each pinned insect must contain a date/locality label which includes the following information: (Typed in 5 font size)
 1st & 2nd line - Place of collection (ie. USA, state, Cty, and town)
 Optional - 2nd line - Place of collection (ie. Polytech wetland)
 3rd line - Date collected (day, month in Roman numerals, year in full as 26-VII-2014)
 4th line - Name of collector (initials and last name)
Determination (ID) labels indicating order names should be printed separately on white card stock paper. These labels may be
generated on a laser printer.
Order name labels should go on empty pins (ones with no specimen) at the beginning of each order in your collection, if more than
one example is provided.
Minimum collection requirements are as follows:
1. Representatives of 10 insect orders (must fit in an ecological category)
a. Odonata
b. Orthoptera
c. Mantodea
d. Hemiptera
e. Coleoptera
f. Homoptera
g. Lepidoptera
h. Diptera
i. Hymenoptera
j. Other orders: Neuroptera, or Blattaria, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Phasmatodea, Megaloptera,
Mecoptera, Tricoptera, Dermaptera
2.
In addition to the above taxonomic requirements, your collection should contain 10 representatives from any of the following
ecological categories. Specimens you select to fulfill each ecological category should be marked with a separate
"ecology" label on the pin. This label should be printed according to the code in the following table. If your label goes on
a pinned specimen, mount it flush with the bottom of the insect box.
Ecological Categories:
Item
Number
Category
Code for Label
Example
1.
Leaf feeding (chewing)
LEAF CHEWING
grasshopper
2.
Plant sucking
PLANT SUCKING
Aphid, stink bug
3.
Feeds on vertebrates
VERT. PARASITE
Mosquito, house fly
Predatory on insects
INSECT
PREDATOR
Dragonfly, tiger
beetle
Parasite (parasitoid) on other insect*
INSECT
PARASITE
ichneumon wasp
6.
Aquatic as adults
AQUATIC ADULT
water boatman
7.
Litter inhabitant
LITTER
ground beetle
8.
Rotten wood dwelling
WOOD
Bess beetle
9.
Household pest
HOUSE PEST
house fly
10.
Nocturnally active
NIGHT
moth
11.
Social insects
SOCIAL
paper wasp, ant
12.
Sound producer
ACOUSTIC
cricket
4.
5.
13.
Pollinators
POLLINATOR
honey bee
Aposematic (warning) coloration
WARNING
COLOR
yellow jacket,
velvet ant
Camouflage coloration
CRYPTIC COLOR
katydid
Casemaking insect
CASE MAKER
caddisfly larva, bag
worm
17.
Chemical defenses
CHEM DEFENSE
Bombardier beetle
18.
Gall inhabitant
GALL
oak gall wasp
Agricultural pests
AG PEST
alfalfa weevil,
Colorado potato
beetle
Dung or carrion feeder
SAPROPHYTE
dung beetle
14.
15.
16.
19.
20.
Unless otherwise indicated on the ID label, all pinned insects are assumed to be adults for grading purposes. Points will be
deducted from the collection grade for pinned immatures since this represents your failure to distinguish developmental stage.
Arrangements
Specimens on pins should be arranged in the boxes with all families of one order following a single label for that order and all
specimens belonging to each family following the specimen bearing the family name. This minimizes the number of labels your must
prepare.
Specimens should be arranged in neat rows with all labels facing the same direction so as to be readable from the left side of the
box. Only specimens that you wish to have graded should be submitted; points will be deducted for misidentifications.
Submitting more specimens than the minimum requirement: a certain number of extra points will be given for additional correctly
identified specimens (see "Grading Rubric"). Specimens that you do not wish to have graded but are willing to turn in for our
teaching collection should follow your main collection in a column headed "SURPLUS".
Always keep a fumigant (ie. moth balls) in your box of pinned insects to prevent contamination by ants or dermestid beetles. Never
put vials in a box containing pinned insects. All vials should be kept together in a separate container clearly marked with your name.
If you wish to keep your collection after you complete the project, you must purchase your own pinning boxes. We encourage you to
donate collections and/or specimens for use as teaching material in future courses.
Misidentifications
If all specimens of a given category are misidentified, no credit is given for the category, and five points are deducted for each
misidentified specimen. If more than one sample is provided for an order, and at least one specimen is correct, credit will be
given for the category, although two additional points will be deducted for each misidentification within the category. Similar
deductions are made for ecological misidentifications.
Neatness
A maximum of 50 points may be deducted, at the discretion of the instructor, for such sins as sloppy pinning, excessively large or
illegible labels, misspellings, mutilated specimens, poorly spread butterflies, etc.
Integrity
No credit whatsoever will be given for a collection that contains erroneous date/locality data, or specimens used previously in other
entomology projects. Insects collected previously by yourself (properly prepared) may be used sparingly. Trading insects between
members of the class is permitted but not encouraged (the date/locality label must show the identity of the original collector). Cash
transactions involving insect specimens are NOT permitted for this assignment.