How to Collect Beetles

This article will get you started on building a study collection of the most numerous group of animals on earth!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• A few household items
• A sunny afternoon
• Curiosity

1. Obtain Basic Supplies:
   
   1. Killing Jar (You will need to kill a few beetles to make a collection. If this is impossible for you, then read no further!). You can make an effective killing jar using non-acetone nail polish remover. Place about a teaspoonful on a small wad of tissue and drop it into a jar. Screw the cap on tight, and you're ready to go. You can also buy these supplies from Bioquip.com.
   
   2. Airtight storage. You can begin with large, flat tupperware with a thin sheet of styrofoam insulation in the bottom to pin your specimens into (this you can buy in big sheets from Home Depot). If you are decent with hammer and nails you can design and build your own. A more advanced option is to order a set of glass-top drawers from Bioquip or the equivalent. These are lovely, but they can be quite expensive. A final idea--cigar boxes. When I was young I had a dozen or more of these filled with specimens. They are airtight and look cool, too.
   
   ***Warning!*** If your container isn't airtight, tiny beetles called dermestids will eventually get in and EAT your specimens right down to the pin!
   
   3. Insect Pins. These you will need to buy. Search on the web or go straight to Bioquip.com. They come in different sizes: you want to buy 1, 3, and 5. Regular straight pins are too short, too thick, and prone to rust.
   
   4. A good identification book. I strongly recommend A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America by Richard E. White and Roger Tory Peterson. It's not for young children, but it is very thorough and easy to use.
   
   5. A notebook. In order to justify killing anything, you MUST keep plenty of notes about where you caught it, what it was doing, the weather, the date and time, and anything else that another entomologist might want to know. This is THE most important piece of gear you can own.

2. Start looking! Many beetles hide during the day under rocks and logs. Pack a few sandwiches and a killing jar and head out to the nearest field (ask for permission if you don't know the owner!). Start turning over anything that might have insects under it. A little patience and luck, you will start finding interesting beetles. Other good searching ideas:
   -- Cow pies. Break up dung with a stick and see who crawls out.
   -- Dig a hole. You may find scarabs and ground beetles.
   -- Flowers. This is probably the most productive place for finding any insect.
   -- Lights. At night, check out the lights around your house. Besides moths, you will find some cool beetles. Bright lights at gas stations and supermarketes are also good sites.
   -- Carrion. This is obviously not for the faint of heart, but dead animals ALWAYS have specific beetles in or under them.
   -- Bait. You can try to attract beetles with fruit by hanging a plum or apple from a tree branch. There are many, many different designs for simple and effective traps using bait. Search online or make up one yourself!

3. Get the specimen into the killing jar. This takes a LOT of practice, and most will get away, especially at first. Keep trying! As you get more serious, you may consider buying or making an aspirator (look it up online!). Leave the beetles in the killing jar for AT LEAST an hour.

4. Record relevant data in your notebook. Don't trust your memory! Scientists--and you now are one--rely on field notes in all situations.

5. When the specimen has been in the jar for over an hour, it is ready to be pinned and set. Put an insect pin through the upper right elytra (wing cover)--NOT through the middle of the back or thorax! Good directions are here: http://www.insectcompany.com/howto/beetle-pinning.shtml. When the insect is dry--several days for larger ones--remove the pins and add the label (next step).

6. Labels. This step is critical. The best way is to type the date, site, weather, and location into a computer and shrink it down to size 4 or 6 font. Cut it out in a little square, and put it on the pin under the beetle. Don't worry if you can't see it because the beetle is in the way--it's there, and without it your specimen means NOTHING. Do not rely on your memory!

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient and thorough. Things tend to happen when you least expect it.
• Do NOT forget to take notes and label your specimens.
• Finally, share what you learn with the people around you.

[lynsuz12]

on 11/22/2009 UGH, if you want to collect beetles, I welcome you to my house. They are all over my cannas. Nothing stops them. You can come and collect all your heart desires....