Cicada Emerging from Nymph Shell. In Our Playlot, Upclose View

We came home from an outing, accomplishing one of our many visits to somewhere on the Summer Bucket List, and the kids immediately hit our playlot. But today we had a surprise visitor, this dog day cicada got a little stuck on his was out emerging from his nymph shell. The emerging process was slow. . . . We stood there observing him for nearly 30 minutes. The initial moment he broke out his head he stood motionless. We went inside to eat, and when we're turned he was gone, success! Yes, we did collect the nymph shell. It's in our now designated cicada box, July 2013. Make mistakes, breathe, reflect, Laugh.Out.Loud, and go Bug Collecting!

Trouble with Mold and Insect Collecting - Take Out Containers As Storage

As we go about collecting our insects, I often arrive at overflow issues. My 2 metal "cookie containers" are full, as is my large Tupperware container storing all our ladybugs from the Loyola beach visit (waiting for labels). I started using our takeout containers to store and pin some of the bugs, and I noticed this soft white growth on my specimens.

Trouble with Mold and Insect Collecting - Take Out Containers As Storage

These boxes have all been filled in the last few days, since it's the end of summer and the insects are "dropping like flies, or bees - as the case may be. These specimens we've collected in our neighborhood - many of which are found in the afternoon en route to pick up the boys after school or after our late afternoon park visit. We don't see these on our morning walks to school (except for the Bumble Bee in the left box, without Pollen baskets, he was sitting on a flower on a chilly September morning, alive but stunned). We always have a big jar with us this time of year. My Older son found it and collected him off the weeds my neighbor grows, and then when we returned home he was frozen. But not before he started buzzing about in the warmth of my pocket.

Apparently these containers, which don't have any apparent cracks, are not air tight. I store the insect supplies and specimens pending labels in our kitchen bench (moved off the dining room table - yaay!). Life with kids is busy, and labeling is so time consuming. (Note to self: find a pre-made label solution.)
Here's our temporary storage (in takeout containers) where we keep the bugs after they are pinned, they "cure" in the positions I've staged them in, keeping there legs out, antennae up, etc. They await their labels too, so I keep scrap paper in the box with my shortcut note on the bug type, date found, by whom, and where. 

Trouble with Mold and Insect Collecting, Take Out Containers As Storage, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.