In the Process of Collecting Bugs - a Mid Season Review of Our Family Hobby in Progress

Insect Collecting doesn't have to take up a lot of space. Here I have a Tupperware container storing our pins, glues, and chemicals. The small clear case temporarily holds the bugs until we find the bigger home. This is a tupperware container holding our pinning and staging supplies. 

In the Process of Collecting Bugs - a Mid Season Review of Our Family Hobby in Progress

Here are some additional supplies laid out. I have My Tupperware container on the top left. Next to the right is a 4-pack of clear boxes form a garage sale, for found injured or dead specimens. The 2nd row from the left, is my pinsol vile for the hydration jar, Clear nail polish, a plain plastic collection jar - also can be used as a hydration jar, lid, small styrofoam piece with pins for staging, purple push pad, envelope with steel pins, Small container and lid for 50/50 mix of water and pinesol when used for hydration (I put the bottom vowl in the hydration jar, and the insect - not in the liquid - in the jar). 

LIFE IS STILL EXCITING AT OUR HOUSE! 

With more insects. . . 

Quick 2021 update - we have taken our bugs online and on youtube. Visit AMI Studios Chicago if you want to see our insect videos - you can watch them here. 

AMI Studios Chicago

It's mostly baby girls videos and here slime making, she spends time with friends, goes on road trips, lots of coloring activities and make good choices while having fun. During the covid stay at home orders - she had many many many facetime pandemic playdates - we made time work for us and not be bored.

In the Process of Collecting Bugs - a Mid Season Review of Our Family Hobby in Progress

Blue collection tube, and candy jar for collecting. The sideways plus sign is firm #30 lb paper cut so I can make a cube shape to hold the moth ball for the final bug display box. and a pen.

Here are our bugs in the curing phase. They have been pinned and staged. I am curing them in the tupperware container. There is a little "odor" that arises when the bugs are "curing" or decomposing. Its the exoskeleton that stay in place.

In the photo below, the mini box on top was a temporary holding place for the insects who were moving into their permanent display box, a former ferraro roche chocolate box. I had already decided to start with the Coleoptera Order for this display box, I had found a Large Red Beetle. and 2 large ground beetles. Little did I know how many more finds the season would bring

! 

Here are some additional insects waiting to be labeled. Several cicadas are on the top and a series of coleoptera beetles and wasps on the bottom portion. You can see the temporary labels to the right side. Its critical to make a temporary label for the bug collection. Appropriate labeling is critical for proper insect identification. There are extensive professional and academic websites that can give great tips on labeling. I like Purdue University Entomology web site and The Professional Entomological Society you tube video on labeling.

 

 

More insects waiting for permanent labels in their temporary home. My collection from Loyola Beach that was thought to be 8 bugs and turned out to be 27 is below. 

The Loyola Beach Collection form 7 - became 28. A few mosquitos and bees are not here in this picture.

In the end our 2013 bug collection resulted in 3 new bug display boxes (and a half). They are kept in our book cabinet in our dressing room/office. A photo to follow.

SO you can see that bug collecting is not space consuming. One or 2 tupperware containers sized 9"x9" are suffice to store both insects for curing and materials for collecting and pinning.

Original Post Date, Mid Collecting Season, September 2013

Make Mistakes. Breathe, Reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.