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If your science fair project involves insects then you need to be able to collect sufficient for you investigations. Fortunately insects can be found everywhere, in homes, yards/gardens, basements, flowers, trees and in water.
Some insects are slow moving and easy to catch with a jar and tweezers. Others. like dragonflies, are fast and more difficult to catch. Before deciding on your insect make sure you can find and catch them in sufficient numbers.
Below I have listed a range of methods for collecting insects. Some will collect dead insects other methods will collect them alive. Your project idea will influence the method you should choose.
Active Insects.
If you have very active insects and want them alive then there is a danger they will damage themselves in storage containers.
The answer is to place them in a refrigerator until they are needed. Because insects can not control their body temperature they slow down in the colder temperature. They soon recover when returned to room temperature.
Insect Collecting
Live Capture Methods
Tweezers, forceps and paintbrushes to pick up and sort insects. Tweezers and forceps need to be used with care whilst paintbrushes cause less damage.
Film canisters (35mm) are excellent for storing small insects. Visit your local photo processor they often dispose of hundreds per day.
Colanders and sieves can be used to collect aquatic insects. Simply sweep the sieve through the water and especially around plant life and other underwater structures. If you need to delve deeper firmly fix the sieve to a long wooden or metal handle.
Butterfly nets are needed to collect flying insects. Many of these insects fly fast and erratically so it is best to have a large wide opening to the net. If you can not find or buy a net think about making your own using netting purchased from a craft store. You can find detailed instructions at the following sites to build a butterfly net or to build a net and study Monarch butterflies. The second link is to an excellent site dedicated to the Monarch butterfly where you can get involved in a piece of real scientific research.
Sweep nets are similar to a butterfly net but are made of stronger material because they are used to sweep through long grass, bushes and trees. Use thesame instructions to build the sweep net as you did for the butterfly net but replace the netting with an old pillow case. You will be amazed at how many different insects you will find.
Beating sheets and umbrellas is another way to collect insects from plants. If the plants are small you can use a piece of paper or plastic bowl. Place the collecting sheet under the plant and shake or knock the plant to dislodge insects. You can collect the insects in to small jars or film canisters. It is best to use white as the collecting background (white sheet or white paper) as the insects show up much better.
Light traps are the best way to collect night flying insects. If you have an outside light on your home you will have already seen the insect that gather round when the light is switched on. Combine the light with a butterfly net is a great way to collect moths and other larger insects. If you can get a "black light" or ultraviolet lights are used by professional collectors. You can often get these light bulbs at home hardware stores. Place a piece of white paper or cardboard behind the light to give the insect somewhere to land. It makes gathering insects a little easier.
Bait traps use food to attract insects. If you have ever left rotten fruit for a few days you will have seen how quickly fruit flies gather. Different food attracts different insects. Try rotten meat, fruit, dung, peanut butter etc. "Sugaring" is a technique used to attract certain night flying insects. Make a mixture of fruit, sugar and beer then let it ferment for a few days in a warm place. To attract the nocturnal insects paint tree trunks and other surfaces.
Pheromone traps use hormones to attract other insects of the opposite sex.Several synthetic hormones are available commercially and you may, through your school or personal contacts, find a university or commercial grower who will let you have a small amount. Making your own pheromone trap is fairly straight forward using these plans from the University of Kentucky.
Pitfall traps - see below.
Collecting Dead Insects.
The investigations you can do with dead insects are more limited than with live capture. However, counting and identifying are much easier. In general killing insects will not seriously affect their survival. Ignorance of their existence and habitat needs are far more likely to lead to their loss.
Killing jars are a simple way to collect insects, already captured, and keep them ready for identification. Peanut butter or other glass jars can be used after they have been thoroughly cleaned. Start by placing a label marked POISON on to the jar. Inside place a small ball of cotton wool sprayed with household insecticide, nail polish remover or alcohol. On top crumple tissue paper to give the insect somewhere to rest. It is also a good idea to put the jar in a dark place as soon as the insect is inside. This helps settle the insect and stop it from damaging itself.
Berlese funnels are used to collect small insects from leaf litter and soil. Plans for a simple inexpensive version can be found here and their is a more detailed description of a professional design from the fieldmuseum.org.
Pitfall traps is another way of collecting ground insects. A container with drainage holes is placed in the ground with its top lip level with the surrounding soil. The top should be shielded from the weather and debris. If the trap is baited then this will attract more insects. In England this type of trap is often baited withbeer to collect slugs. If the trap is checked regularly it is possible to collect live insects. Otherwise preserve the insects with a salt solution in a can without drainage holes.
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