1. Happy Wednesday Ninjas!
Have the following and be seated with your group when the bell rings: 1) your jars 2) pen/pencil 3) 2 laptops

2. Insect Collection
Essential Question: “How do scientists identify and classify insects that are found in nature?”
Standard: (8B) The student will categorize organisms using a hierarchical classification system based on similarities and differences shared among groups.

3. Identify the order of your insects
Today’s objectives:
Identify the order of your insects
Record the scientific name of your insects
Correctly label your insects
Pin your insects

4. 1) Insect identification—practice your key
Isoptera
Diptera
Lepidoptera

5. 2) Scientific Name

6. 3) Location Label City State Date Collector
Labels can be printed by hand with a fine-point pen
or printed on a laser or ink-jet printer. Use 4 pt
type, no more than 6 lines long. Keep labels small
& neat. Other information can go on a second label.

7. 3) ID Label Scientific Name Common name Order
Labels can be printed by hand with a fine-point pen
or printed on a laser or ink-jet printer. Use 4 pt
type, no more than 6 lines long. Keep labels small
& neat. Other information can go on a second label.

8. Pinning Block
Use this tool to ‘space’ your fresh or relaxed insect high
on the insect pin. Most of the time, your data label will
fit underneath it and still be legible.

9. 4) Once You Have Some Insects, You’re Almost Ready to Pin
Practice pinning on some of your larger, more common insects first---like grasshoppers, crickets, etc.
Some larger beetles may have harder wing covers. Use a larger pin here; guide pin carefully to prevent punching out the legs
Save smaller, delicate specimens, moths & butterflies for later

10. Insect Pins
Enameled or stainless steel---on Amazon, if you WANT to buy them
Available sizes---#000 to 7
#2 or #3 should work for most common larger insects; use these also for ‘pointing’ smaller, delicate insects.
I have alternative pins for you to use. They will rust after a couple of years, unlike the “real” pins.

11. Pinning Insects---Caution!
Insects dry rapidly, becoming very brittle
If you try to pin a dry insect---the legs will probably fall off---and worse
If you cannot pin fresh specimens immediately, you will need to soften them or ‘relax them’ ASK ME BEFORE YOU PIN, IF YOU THINK THIS IS THE CASE!!

12. Relaxing chamber Clean, tightly-sealing container
Moisten paper towel with 1:1 mixture of water & rubbing alcohol; place in bottom of container
Fold clean, dry paper towel to fit in container above the moist towel. Carefully place insects onto dry towel.
Check flexibility of insects daily. Be patient.

13. Pin Position---to the right of center.
Beetle Pinning Example
Diptera
Hymenoptera
Coleoptera
Hemiptera
For larger specimens!
Orthoptera
Dermaptera
Lepidoptera
Odonata
Hemiptera

18. Pointing Small, Delicate Insects
We’ll just use a small piece of notecard
Note card
Point punch, note card Point in place on insect pin

19. Pointing Insects Pinning Insect Video
glue
Use pinning block to pin the point first. Bend the very tip of the point down, dot with glue. Glue point to insect’s right side. Again, this works BEST if the insect is fresh or softened/’relaxed’.
Use Elmer’s Glue---effective, non-toxic, water soluble
This technique is used for insects too small or delicate to pin directly
Pinning Insect Video

20. Spreading Board For Lepidoptera, Odonata Pin your fresh or relaxed
specimen first. Use screws on either end of board to widen or narrow slot where you will anchor
your pinned insect. Get some
extra pins & narrow strips of paper for next steps.
See next slide…

21. Spreading Lepidoptera 4
Hold wing
in place
with pin through
paper strip; repeat
for hind wing, pushing its leading edge
under trailing edge of forewing
Use one extra pin
to pull forewing
forward w/o
puncturing
it. Vein on
leading edge
is strong enough to
allow you to push wing forward
Butterfly Pinning Example
Multiple pins can Use extra pins
anchor wings under to support
paper strips abdomen, antennae
Let sit several
days. Remove Practice makes
pins, paper, pin into perfect!
display.
Forewings are
at right angles
to axis of body

22. Housing Your Insect Collection
Protect it from:
-Dermestid beetles
-Other damaging insects, fungi
-Too much light, heat, moisture
-Handling or touching, shaking,
jarring, dropping

23. Housing Your Insect Collection
Select a container with a tightly fitting lid; container must be deep enough to hold pinned specimens in a sturdy pinning surface; example below shows a temporary storage box. You can also use a shoebox or make a box.

24. Housing Your Insect Collection
Must have a tightly-fitting lid,
keeping out pests that will destroy dry, brittle specimens
These are commercially
available boxes. Box on
right is for permanent
museum display or storage, if you WANT to buy a fancy box

25. These specimens
are arranged by
Order

26. These specimens also are arranged by Order
Labels are
legible but
a little long

27. Housing Your Insect Collection
While this arrangement looks nice, what happens if the alcohol vials ‘break loose’?

28. Identify the order of your insects
Today’s objectives:
Identify the order of your insects
Record the scientific name of your insects
Correctly label your insects
Pin your insects
GROUP WORK CHAMPS