STATE OF ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION
BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION

John C. Watson, Chairman; Thomas Park, Ph.D., Biology; L. L. Sloss, Ph.D., Geology; Roger Adams, Ph.D., D.Sc., Chemistry; Robert H. Anderson, B.S.C.E., Engineering; Charles E. Olmsted, Ph.D., Forestry; W. L. Everitt, E.E., Ph.D., Representing the President of the University of Illinois; Delyte W. Morris, Ph.D., President of Southern Illinois University.

NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY DIVISION, Urbana, Illinois
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL STAFF
George Sprugel, Jr., Ph.D., Chief
Herbert H. Ross, Ph.D., Assistant Chief
Robert O. Watson, B.S., Assistant to the Chief

Section of Economic Entomology

William H. Luckmann, Ph.D., Entomologist and Head

Willis N. Bruce, Ph.D., Entomologist

Ronald H. Meyer, Ph.D., Associate Entomologist

James E. Appleby, Ph.D., Associate Entomologist

Robert D. Pausch, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist

Ralph E. Sechriest, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist

Delmar Broersma, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist

Joseph V. Maddox, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist

Edward J. Armbrust, Ph.D., Assistant Entomologist

Dannel McCollum, B.A., Technical Assistant

Gregory P. Marsh, B.S., Technical Assistant

Sue E. Watkins, Junior Scientific Assistant

H. B. Petty, Ph.D., Entomologist in Extension[1]

Stevenson Moore, III, Ph.D., Entomologist in Extension[1]

Roscoe Randell, M.S., Technical Assistant in Extension[1]

Clarence E. White, B.S., Technical Assistant in Extension[1]

Stanley Rachesky, M.S., Technical Assistant in Extension[1]

D. E. Kuhlman, M.S., Technical Assistant in Extension[1]

Amal C. Banerjee, Ph.D., Research Associate[1]

Jean G. Wilson, B.A., Research Associate[1]

Ranu Banerjee, B.A., Research Assistant[1]

Ayten Hatidoglu, B.S., Research Assistant[1]

Keun S. Park, M.S., Research Assistant[1]

Keturah Reinbold, M.S., Research Assistant[1]

Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification

H. H. Ross, Ph.D., Assistant Chief and Head

Milton W. Sanderson, Ph.D., Taxonomist

Lewis J. Stannard, Jr., Ph.D., Taxonomist

Philip W. Smith, Ph.D., Taxonomist

Leonora K. Gloyd, M.S., Associate Taxonomist

Wallace E. LaBerge, Ph.D., Associate Taxonomist

Robert T. Allen, M.S., Technical Assistant

Bernice Sweeney, Technical Assistant

Bess White, A.B., Technical Assistant

John D. Unzicker, Ph.D., Research Assistant[1]

Section of Aquatic Biology

George W. Bennett, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist and Head

William C. Starrett, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist

R. W. Larimore, Ph.D., Aquatic Biologist

David H. Buck, Ph.D., Associate Aquatic Biologist

Robert C. Hiltibran, Ph.D., Associate Biochemist

Donald F. Hansen, Ph.D., Associate Aquatic Biologist

William F. Childers, Ph.D., Assistant Aquatic Biologist

David L. Thomas, B.S., Research Assistant

Maryfran Martin, Technical Assistant

Claude Russell Rose, Field Assistant

Dennis Dooley, Field Assistant

Charles F. Thoits, III, B.A., Research Associate[1]

David Krulac, Project Assistant[1]

Section of Applied Botany and Plant Pathology

J. Cedric Carter, Ph.D., Plant Pathologist and Head

J. L. Forsberg, Ph.D., Plant Pathologist

Robert A. Evers, Ph.D., Botanist

Robert Dan Neely, Ph.D., Plant Pathologist

E. B. Himelick, Ph.D., Plant Pathologist

Walter Hartstirn, Ph.D., Assistant Plant Pathologist

D. F. Schoeneweiss, Ph.D., Assistant Plant Pathologist

David Russell Vance, Technical Assistant

Robert J. Slattery, B.S., Technical Assistant

Robert S. Perry, B.S., Technical Assistant

Betty S. Nelson, Technical Assistant

Sylvia P. Brockstein, M.S., Technical Assistant

Section of Wildlife Research

Glen C. Sanderson, Ph.D., Wildlife Specialist and Head

F. C. Bellrose, B.S., Wildlife Specialist

H. C. Hanson, Ph.D., Wildlife Specialist

Richard R. Graber, Ph.D., Wildlife Specialist

Ronald F. Labisky, M.S., Associate Wildlife Specialist

William R. Edwards, M.S., Associate Wildlife Specialist

William W. Cochran, JR., Assistant Wildlife Specialist

Robert E. Greenberg, M.S., Research Assistant

Helen C. Schultz, M.A., Technical Assistant

Lucinda Janis, Technical Assistant

Robert D. Crompton, Field Assistant

Ronald Duzan, Laboratory Assistant

Mary Ann Johnson, Laboratory Assistant

William J. Francis, Ph.D., Research Associate[1]

Jack A. Ellis, M.S., Research Associate[1]

James A. Bailey, Ph.D., Research Associate[1]

Gerald G. Montgomery, M.S., Research Associate[1]

William L. Anderson, M.A., Research Associate[1]

George B. Joselyn, M.S., Research Associate[1]

Gerald L. Storm, M.S., Field Ecologist[1]

Ronald L. Westemeier, B.S., Research Associate[1]

Stanley L. Etter, M.S., Research Assistant[1]

Robert E. Hawkins, B.S., Research Assistant[1]

Jeffrey C. Hanson, M.S., Research Assistant[1]

Keith T. Dauphin, Project Assistant[1]

Section of Publications and Public Relations

Owen F. Glissendorf, M.S., Technical Editor and Head

Robert M. Zewadski, M.S., Associate Technical Editor

Nancy K. Ginzel, B.S., Assistant Technical Editor

Wilmer D. Zehr, Technical Photographer

William L. Taylor, Technical Assistant

Technical Library

Doris F. Dodds, B.A., M.S.L.S., Technical Librarian

Patricia F. Stenstrom, B.A., M.S.L.S., Assistant Technical Librarian

CONSULTANTS: Herpetology, Hobart M. Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Zoology, University of Illinois; Parasitology, Norman D. Levine, Ph.D., Professor of Veterinary Parasitology and Veterinary Research, University of Illinois; Wildlife Research, Willard D. Klimstra, Ph.D., Professor of Zoology and Director of Cooperative Wildlife Research, Southern Illinois University; Statistics, Horace W. Norton, Ph.D., Professor of Statistical Design and Analysis, University of Illinois.

This paper is a contribution from the Section of Faunistic Surveys and Insect Identification.
(33711—10M—10-66)30

Where to Collect 1

What to Use 2

Nets 3

Killing Bottles 6

Aspirators or Suckers 9

Sifter 12

Berlese Funnel 12

Equipment for Collecting Aquatic Insects 16

How to Handle Unmounted Specimens 17

Temporary Cases 17

Relaxing Boxes and Jars 19

How to Mount and Preserve Specimens 20

Preservation by Pinning 20

Spreading Board for Moths and Butterflies 24

Preservation in Fluid 26

How to Label the Specimens 26

Housing the Collection Permanently 27

Insect Boxes 27

Precaution Against Pests 27

The Insect World 28

How to Identify Specimens 34

Synopsis of Illinois Insect Orders 35

Primitive Wingless Insects 35

Diplura 36

Protura 36

Collembola 36

Microcoryphia 36

Thysanura 38

Primitive Winged Insects 38

Ephemeroptera 38

Odonata 38

Folding-Wing Insects 40

Cursoria 42

Isoptera 43

Orthoptera 43

Dermaptera 44

Plecoptera 45

Zoraptera 45

Corrodentia 45

Phthiraptera 45

Mallophaga 47

Anoplura 47

Thysanoptera 47

Hemiptera 48

Megaloptera 52

Neuroptera 52

Coleoptera 53

Hymenoptera 54

Mecoptera 55

Trichoptera 57

Lepidoptera 58

Diptera 60

Siphonaptera 61

Relatives of Insects 62

Isopoda 62

Amphipoda 62

Scorpionida 64

Pseudoscorpionida 64

Phalangida 64

Araneida 65

Acarina 65

Diplopoda 66

Chilopoda 67

The State Insect Collection 67

Reports on Illinois Insects 69

Useful Books 70

How to Ship Specimens 70

Where to Buy Supplies 71

Printed by Authority of the State of Illinois, Ch. 127. IRS, Par. 58.22.

HOW TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE INSECTS

H. H. ROSS

With rather simple equipment, the amateur as well as the trained entomologist can make a worthwhile collection of insects.

The making of such a collection may have educational and recreational as well as scientific values. Developing this hobby is one of the finest ways for students, especially those in agricultural districts, to become acquainted with the large number of injurious and beneficial insects that they encounter about the home and in the fields. High school classes in biology find excellent laboratory material in the many insects available for rearing and study. Both old and young collectors find a great deal of pleasure in working with the showy and beautiful insects, such as beetles, moths, and butterflies; the satisfaction derived comes both from having relaxation from the day’s work and from making real contributions to scientific knowledge. Many entomological museums welcome the opportunity to examine carefully prepared and labeled collections. These collections supply distribution records for insect species, in addition to other information of value to technical entomologists. Also, the amateur collector profits from his contact with specialists who can help him identify his specimens and advise him at any stage of his work.

It is hoped that this circular will show how easy it is to make a start in insect collecting and will give the student helpful ideas on how and where to begin.

WHERE TO COLLECT

In late spring, in summer, and in early fall, insects are very abundant in fields and woods, and large numbers of them may be caught by sweeping through the grass and branches with a strong insect net. Flowers of all descriptions are favorite visiting places of many bees, flies, beetles, and other insects, and will afford good collecting. Woods along the banks of streams, open glades in deep woods, and brush along forest edges offer some of the best opportunities for collecting by the sweeping method.

In early spring, when insects can be taken only sparingly in the open, the collector frequently finds sheltered hollows where they may be caught in large numbers. A certain kind of insect may live only on a certain kind of plant, and to obtain the insect the collector must search or sweep the plant, called the host plant.

Many obscure places harbor insects seldom found elsewhere. Among these are leaf mold and debris on the surface of the soil, particularly in woods; rotten logs and stumps, which should be turned over to reveal insects that hide under or around them, and then carefully searched or torn apart for others that live inside; in, under, and around dead animals; under boards and stones.

Trees sometimes yield valuable specimens. If part of a tree, under which has been spread a large white sheet, is struck with a heavy, padded stick, many insects, such as weevils, will fall to the sheet and “play possum.” They can be picked off quite easily.

Lights attract large numbers of certain nocturnal insects, such as June beetles and many kinds of moths; at night these insects may be collected at street or porch lights, on windows and screens of lighted rooms, or at light traps put up especially to attract them. Swarms of aquatic insects come to street lights of towns along rivers, sometimes in such numbers as to pile up in a crawling mass under each light. Collecting at this source is best on warm, cloudy nights; wind or cold keeps most nocturnal insects fairly inactive. Different species of moths and beetles visit the lights in different seasons so that collecting by this method alone yields many kinds of insects.

Insects that live in the water may be collected with heavy dip nets swept through the water at various levels and through the mud and debris at the bottom. In shallow water, many insects will be found if stones and logs are turned over and leaf tufts pulled apart.

In winter, insect galls or cocoons may be gathered. If these are placed in jars with cheesecloth covers tied over them, kept in a warm room, but away from radiators and all intense heat, many insects will emerge from them before spring.

WHAT TO USE

For making even a fairly large insect collection, only a small amount of equipment is required. A net and killing bottle are essential, and good work may be done with these alone. A greater variety of insects may be collected and with better results if a few more items are added to the list. Here is an outfit that will be found very satisfactory in the field.

1. A strong beating net for general sweeping and an additional light net to be used for moths and butterflies.

2. Killing bottles, several small and one or two large ones.

3. A pair of flexible forceps, 10 to 12 centimeters (about 4 to 5 inches) long, with slender prongs.

4. One or two camel’s-hair brushes for picking up minute insects.

5. A few vials or small bottles containing fluid preservative.

6. Folded papers for butterflies.

7. A few small tins or boxes lined with cellucotton.

These items may be purchased from commercial supply houses such as those listed on page 71. Many items, however, may be made by the collector at nominal cost.

Nets

Nets are the most important items in the collecting kit of the entomologist. For this reason nets should be rigidly constructed and handled with care.

Construction.—Nets may easily be made at home. The necessary parts are a handle, a loop or ring to be attached to it, and a cloth bag to be hung from the loop, figs. 1 and 2. The handle should be strong and fairly light. At the net end, fig. 1a, a groove is cut down each side to receive the arms of the loop. The grooves are as deep as the thickness of the wire used in the loop; one groove is 3 inches long and the other 2½ inches; and each ends in a hole through the handle at right angles to the length.

The loop, fig. 1b, is made of steel wire, preferably three-eighths-inch piano wire, which if bent by rough usage springs back into shape and will stand a great deal of hard wear. The wire is shaped, as the figure shows, to form a loop with two straight arms, the tips of which are bent at right angles toward each other. The arms and hooks thus formed must be exactly long enough to fit along the grooves and into the holes in the handle. After the bag or net has been attached to the loop, and the wire has been fitted to the handle, the joint may either be wrapped tightly with wire, fig. 1c, or bound by a metal cylinder or ferrule slipped over the arms of the loop, fig. 1d.

The bag, about twice as long as the diameter of the loop, should be tapered at the bottom. It is made from four pieces of cloth, each cut in the shape of fig. 2a, and a narrow strip or band of stout muslin or light canvas, 2b, which is to bind the bag to the wire loop. The four pieces are sewed together to form a cone-shaped bag, and one edge of the band is sewed to the top edge of the bag.

The bag may be attached to the wire loop in either of two ways. The band may be folded over the loop and sewed so that the attachment is permanent; or it may be folded over, sewed, and then slipped on the loop before the latter is fastened to the handle. In the latter case the bag must be open along one seam just below the handle a sufficient distance to allow the band to slip on and around the loop; this vent may be closed with a string lacing after the net is on the loop, and the whole fastened to the handle. A combination of this arrangement with a ferrule binding the loop to the handle is most convenient, for it allows the bag to be removed at will and a lighter or heavier one substituted according to the needs of the collector.

General Purpose Net.—Loop, heavy wire, 12 inches in diameter; bag, strong unbleached muslin or light duck, 20 to 24 inches long; handle, hardwood stick, 24 to 30 inches long.

Butterfly Net.—As above but with a longer handle and a bag of good quality marquisette or fine nylon netting.

Combination Net.—A net that includes the features and uses of the two nets described above and is a better collecting instrument may be conveniently made instead, although at slightly higher cost because of the better materials. Its loop, of 7½ gauge (three-eighths inch) piano wire, is 15 inches in diameter and allows a greater area to be covered with each sweep. The bag, of finest bolter’s silk or best quality marquisette, is 24 inches long and serves equally well for the capture of delicate insects and for beating. The handle, of straight-grained hickory or ash, is 40 inches long and permits the collector to cover greater areas in sweeping. If a cheaper net is desired, one of unbleached muslin will be satisfactory for general use.

Care and Use.—All nets are easily ripped and for this reason should be kept away from barbed wire and from thorny trees, such as locust and red haw. Also, they should be kept dry. Moisture rots the fabric, making it more easily torn. Most insects caught in a net while it is wet are unfit for a collection.

Flowers, herbs, and boughs should be swept with a sidewise motion. A sidewise sweep will collect more insects than an upward or downward sweep and at the same time mutilate less. If care is taken not to damage flowers or foliage, the same patch of plants may be visited several times with profit. The contents of the bag should be removed after every few sweeps or strokes. This practice will prevent damage to the insects caused by being jostled about in the net with a large amount of debris.

Killing Bottles

The best killing agents for use in bottles are either potassium cyanide or calcium cyanide. These compounds give a concentration of deadly fumes sufficient to kill most insects in a very short time, which is desirable. Generally, two sizes of bottles are used, and in either of them one of these cyanides may give good results. Only a small supply should be purchased at a time, as they deteriorate rapidly.

Construction.—A pyrex glass test tube or strong ring-necked vial, about three-quarters inch wide and 4 to 6 inches long, makes a good cyanide bottle of the smaller size, fig. 3. Put about three-quarters inch of granular potassium cyanide or calcium cyanide flakes in the tube or vial. Cover with a tight plug of cellucotton, on top of which put one or two loose plugs. Instead of cellucotton, you may use sawdust and a plaster of Paris batter. In the latter case, cover the cyanide with one-quarter inch of sawdust and over it pour one-quarter inch of newly mixed, thick batter of plaster of Paris and water. Allow the batter to harden for a few hours; then keep the bottle tightly corked except when it is being used.

The larger cyanide bottle, fig. 3, which should be sturdy, may range in capacity from one-half pint to a quart. In the larger bottle, the cyanide should always have the plaster of Paris covering. The layer of sawdust and plaster should be a little thicker than that for the smaller bottle.

Care and Use.—Label all killing bottles and other containers of cyanide conspicuously with the word POISON; keep them tightly corked and away from children or adults who do not realize the extreme deadliness of the compounds. Never test the strength of a killing bottle by taking the cork out and smelling the contents. As an added precaution and safeguard to the collector, tape the bottom of the cyanide bottle to protect it against breakage.

The bottle should be almost entirely filled with loosely crumpled, soft paper, which should be changed whenever it gets damp. This paper will help keep the specimens from rubbing against each other inside the bottle and thereby being damaged.

Each collector should have several cyanide bottles and follow carefully these practices.

1. Transfer insects from net to bottle by holding the uncorked bottle in a fold or corner of the net and crowding one or more of the specimens into it, or “running” the open bottle up the side of the net beneath the specimen or specimens. Most insects can be maneuvered into the bottle easily and the opening temporarily closed by the thumb, or the stopper can be put on. In obstinate cases, it may be desirable to stopper the bottle through the cloth of the net until the specimen is stupefied, after which the insect will drop to the bottom of the bottle.

2. Keep small, delicate insects in a bottle by themselves. Such insects as large beetles are apt to mutilate small flies and other delicate insects in the same bottle.

3. Keep a special bottle for moths and butterflies. When these die they shed large quantities of scales, which stick to and partially spoil other insects.

4. Keep the inside of the bottle dry. Cyanide bottles “sweat”; that is, moisture both from the insects and the plaster condenses on the inside of the bottle. Moisture will mat the hair and appendages of insects and discolor the bodies. Do not crowd the bottle with large insects, especially juicy ones like grasshoppers. Change the paper frequently. Wipe out the bottle with paper or cloth, which should be carefully disposed of in such a way that it cannot poison persons or pets. Keep the killing chemical out of cuts and mouth. Wash hands with care after handling the chemical.

5. Take insects out of the bottles soon after they are dead. Cyanide fumes quickly turn many yellows to red or orange, and also make small specimens brittle so that legs and other parts break off easily.

6. Empty the insects out of the bottles before they have accumulated in a ball at the bottom. To do so will prevent damage to the smaller specimens and discoloration due to “sweating.”

7. Dispose of a cyanide bottle when it will no longer kill insects quickly. Substitute a fresh bottle and you will save time in the field. Be sure to dispose of old bottles in such a way that their deadly contents are out of reach of children and pets.

Aspirators or Suckers

Small, rapidly moving insects, such as leafhoppers, diminutive beetles, and flies, may be collected by using an aspirator or sucker, figs. 4 and 5.

Construction.—An aspirator can be made from a capsule vial (available from a drugstore) or from a piece of glass tubing. A small olive bottle may be substituted for the vial.

The following items are needed for the vial aspirator, fig. 4: a vial, 1¼ inches in diameter and 3 or more inches long, a two-hole rubber stopper with openings to fit one-fourth-inch diameter glass tubing, 16 inches of one-fourth-inch diameter glass tubing, rubber tubing 24 inches long to fit over the glass tubing, a small metal file (the triangular type is best), a small piece of cheesecloth, some string, and a bunsen burner. Construct the vial aspirator according to the following directions and as shown in fig. 4.

1. Cut the glass tubing into three pieces, 3 inches, 8 inches, and 5 inches in length. To cut the tubing, score it with an edge of the metal file; then hold the tubing with both hands so that the thumb of each hand is on the side of the tubing opposite to the scored mark; break the tubing away from the body by exerting pressure with the thumbs.

2. Make a slight bend in the center of the 8-inch piece of tubing and a right angle bend in the 5-inch piece, as follows: hold one piece of glass tubing with both hands and place the center of it in the blue flame of the bunsen burner; rotate the tubing slowly. When the glass glows yellow, it begins to soften. Bend the tubing to the desired angle. Then quickly withdraw the tubing from the flame.

3. Heat one end of the 8-inch piece of glass tubing in the bunsen burner, slowly rotating the tubing so that the sharp edges melt slightly and round out; then allow the tubing to cool. Heat one end of the 3-inch tubing in the same manner. Smooth the remaining rough edges of the glass tubing by heating them slightly.

4. Insert the 8-inch and 5-inch pieces of glass tubing into the rubber stopper. The longer piece, fig. 4c, should project about 1½ inches into the vial. The shorter piece, fig. 4d, should project about three-fourths inch.

5. Over one end of the 5-inch piece of glass tubing, fig. 4e, tie two thicknesses of cheesecloth securely with string.

6. Over the other end of the 5-inch piece, slip one end of the rubber tubing, fig. 4f.

7. Into the other end of the rubber tubing slip the 3-inch piece of glass tubing, fig. 4g, so that the rounded end of glass is exposed.