BUG COLLECTION

1. BUG COLLECTION PROCEDURES AND INFORMATION

2. The Task Your at home project for this semester will be to create a bug collection. Our topics in class will have us covering the levels of organization in an ecosystem. I would like for you to find samples of organisms that live in the Florida ecosystems. Begin collecting butterflies, moths, beetles, ants, bees, spiders, grasshoppers, walking sticks… the list goes on and on. You can even throw in a roach that you found dead in your house! This slide show will give you all the information you need to make a brilliant bug collection. Good luck in your hunt!

3. Safety Before we continue too far let’s talk safety. In working on a bug collection there are several risks involved. Use caution when pinning your bugs to your Styrofoam or cardboard. If you use a glass Kill Jar, be careful when moving it. Be sure to clean up broken glass well. Some of your bugs may bite or be poisonous. Be careful when handling unknown bugs. Only use nail polish remover in your kill jar in open, well ventilated rooms. See the back of the bottle for more information.

4. Materials • The minimum required materials for this project will cost you around $5 maximum. Some students will already have the materials needed at home and will be able to do this assignment for free. • To complete the bug collection you will need the following materials at MINIMUM. • large piece of Styrofoam or cardboard • sewing pins • paper forbug log and bug labels. • These materials are not required, but will make your project easier and nicer looking. • deep frame or shadowbox (known as a Schmidt box to professionals) • glass or plastic container with a lid • cottonballs • nail polish remover • butterfly net

5. Finding Bugs • Those bugs won’t find themselves! • Look everywhere for them! • Already dead bugs make for easy pickings! • In the house • In the pool filter • On the ground • In the air • Around lights and lamps at night • Even squashed on the front of a car! (make sure the bug isn’t too damaged)

6. Kill Jar Sometimes you’ll find a bug that is really cool and would look just awesome in your collection, but it’s still alive. Here’s how to quickly kill a bug for your collection. Get a glass or plastic container with a lid. Making sure that you are in a well-ventilated area (outside is best), pour some nail polish remover onto a cotton ball. Put the soaked cotton ball into the container. The nail polish remover will quickly kill any bug you place into the container.

7. Collecting Bugs Collect, collect, collect! YOU WILL NEED TO COLLECT 15 BUGS IN TOTAL FOR YOUR COLLECTION! Using the same bug over and over will note get you as many points as using all different bugs. The more different species that you have the better! If you are saving some bugs for a long time, you will need to consider preserving them in one of the following ways: Freezing them. Just place your bugs in a container or Ziploc bag and freeze them like chicken! Moth balls. Moth balls will help to keep other bugs at bay, but will not work as well as freezing them. If the idea of having bugs in a freezer sounds too gross, put them in a container that you cannot see through. You won’t even notice them hanging out beside the ice cream after a while!

8. Identifying Bugs Use the website www.cirrusimage.com for more help, or use the information below. Order: Isopoda This group of bugs includes woodlice and roly-polies. Clues include many legs and a highly flexible shell. Order: Trichoptera Known as caddisflies, these insects resemble moths but have very fine hairs on their wings instead of scales. Order: Ephemeroptera This group contains what are known as Mayflies.

9. Use the website www.cirrusimage.com for more help, or use the information below. Order: Odonata This group contains dragonflies. Order: Ixodida This group of arachnids contains ticks. You can determine a tick from other beetles because it has 8 legs. Ticks are tough to kill and can carry serious diseases. Be careful. Classes: Diplopoda (millipedes) and Chiloploda (centipedes) Centipedes are known to give poisonous stings, often similar to a bee sting. Be careful.

10. Use the website www.cirrusimage.com for more help, or use the information below. Order: Aranae This group of arachnids contains spiders. Look for the classic 8 legs. While all spiders carry poison to some degree, a few can be deadly. Best to avoid spiders or ask for an adult’s assistance. Order: Orthoptera This group contains grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets. Order: Diptera This group contains flies and mosquitoes. Be careful as some members of diptera can bite.

11. Use the website www.cirrusimage.com for more help, or use the information below. Order: Hemiptera Known as true bugs, these species will resemble beetles but not have a hard shell. They often have long “beaks” for sucking plant juices. Order: Coleoptera The most diverse order on Earth, this order contains beetles. Look for 6 legs and a hard shell that covers wings. Order: Hymenoptera This group contains bees, wasps, and ants. Be careful when handling members of this order as their stings can be painful.

12. Use the website www.cirrusimage.com for more help, or use the information below. Order: Lepidoptera This order contains both moths and butterflies. To tell the difference, moths usually are active at night while butterflies are usually active during the day. Moths often have furry looking antennae coming off of their head. Order: Dictyoptera This group includes mantises, walking sticks, and roaches.

13. Bug Log & Bug Labels • Keep a record of every bug that you collect. • You should record the following information onto a sheet of paper • Bug’s Common Name (butterfly, grasshopper, roach…) • Bug’s Order (see previous slide) • Where you found it • When you found it. • How you caught it. (Maybe you found it dead) • You will write a much smaller label on a tiny strip of paper that will be pinned under the bug. Have on it the following: • Bug’s Common Name • Bug’s Order • Butterfly • Lepidoptera • Found in Backyard on Flowers • 9/22/2011 at 6:00 pm • Used butterfly net Butterfly Lepidoptera

14. Mounting Bugs When it’s time to mount your bugs that you have collected, use the picture to the right to help you out. Your bug should be at the top of the pin. Your label should be at the bottom of the pin.

15. Mounting Bugs Carefully push the pin with the bug and the label onto your piece of Styrofoam or cardboard box.

16. Finishing Touches and Tips You may want to put your bug collection in a frame called a “shadow box”. This will make your collection look really professional! To keep your bugs from drying up and falling apart before you pin them down, it helps to keep them in the freezer. It’s gross, but works wonderfully. Your dead bugs make for a delicious meal for ants and other bugs! Keep them covered until it’s time to bring them in with plastic wrap. You may want to put your bug collection in a frame called a “shadow box”. This will make your collection look really professional! Search around street lamps or porch lights once it has gotten dark. You’ll be able to find lots of moths and beetles! Write down your bug log information immediately so you don’t forget it!

17. Alternative Assignment If you just can’t stand the idea of touching or killing bugs, consider making a photograph presentation! • You will need to: • photograph 15 different bugs. • print the photos. • place the photos on a display board (poster board). • put a bug label beside each photograph. • keep track of a bug log. KEEP YOUR CELL PHONEHANDY TO TAKE PICS! European Honey Bee Hymenoptera