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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 2:39pm | IP Logged
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My ds has been after me to buy supplies for bug collecting and mounting.
We already have a full complement of bug catching equipment, including a bug vacuum from Wild Safari.
But as far as mounting them and having a bug collection...oy. Not my thing at. all.
Any advice on how to get started here? Has anyone had a son who went through a similar phase? How did you handle it?
I'm really not wanting to invest a ton of money in supplies at this early stage. Still, he has been asking for a good couple of months, and I feel I have to get going with something...
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 3:22pm | IP Logged
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I did a bug collection for 10th grade biology. The only supplies you really need to buy are special insect pins, which are not expensive ($4-5 for 100) but SO MUCH BETTER than regular straight pins for this. You want these, trust me, or your son will be very frustrated!
Otherwise, you can repurpose what you have, though, you might like to buy some styrofoam that is easier to cut to the size of your box(es), though, the styrofoam that comes with meat is perfect, especially if you find the right box to hold it without too much shifting about.
If your son's collection grows and you want to actually display them, you might invest in shadowboxes and the like, but you can start collecting, identifying, etc... in plain old shoe boxes. You should be able to move good specimens to a fancier home should this phase last longer than a few months and you decide to invest in it.
Use a jar or tupperware/rubbermaid type container with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol for collecting, and then, don't wait too long after death to mount it, using the pins to carefully position legs, wings, etc... --One pin through the body, the rest just right next to the things you are trying to hold into place-- After a few days, you can use the pin through the insect to move it to a more permanent place.
I had one box for the new insects I was identifying and stiffening and then others for storage before finally mounting the whole collection (we were required to have at least 50) to a large piece of foam core for grading purposes. I don't see why you would ever need more than the shoe boxes unless ds really wanted to display them, and then, you probably would only need some ordinary small shadowboxes from Michael's for favorites.
Another option is freezing rather than alcohol, and I did that sometimes, too, but there were always a few bugs in our class that reanimated when they thawed, so its a bit riskier  .
I'm sure you have some bug and insect field guides. You might want to get a couple more specialized guides. For instance, moths are rampant this time of year and easy to catch and mount, but there are SO MANY varieties, the standard Audoban guide won't likely have all that you'll find. Though, the internet was not there as a reference either when I did this 16 years ago!
We have the book The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell, and he offers some more sophisticated techniques for trickier mountings, but there is only a couple of pages devoted specifically to insects. Still, it is a really good book to have as a reference, and your son would probably like it, and it is cheap used.
My oldest is heavy into birding at the moment, but he's been pouring over this Durrell book a lot this week, so I anticipate ideas for other, messier collections pretty soon
ETA: I just looked in the book, and it reminded me that while most bugs are fine with a pin through the thorax, with a beetle, you will want to pin it through one wing side. And for tiny bugs, you can glue them to a piece of cardstock either cut like a rectangle or triangle and put the pin through the paper so it can float a bit above the mounting surface.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and I suppose a hand lense would be helpful, but I didn't have one. 
Still, fortunately for you, there are not a lot of things to buy 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Here's an old thread that MacBeth recommended the Durrell book.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 4:03pm | IP Logged
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I haven't mounted ours. We save cicada bodies and put insects in jars all the time, but then I dispose of the carcass after a while.
I think my little one is more interested in insects and will want to do more, so thanks for bringing this up, Melinda!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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jawgee
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| Posted: June 03 2013 at 9:03pm | IP Logged
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What a timely post! I've been thinking of doing this with my 7YO, but had no idea where to start. Thank you!
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Monica
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 5:57am | IP Logged
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Oh, Lindsay- thank you! Your post was just what I needed to get us started.
Would the insect pins be available at a craft store, or should I order them on line?
So, shoe boxes, styrofoam, insect pins and a field guide.
It all seems much less daunting now.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 9:26am | IP Logged
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SeaStar wrote:
Oh, Lindsay- thank you! Your post was just what I needed to get us started.
Would the insect pins be available at a craft store, or should I order them on line?
So, shoe boxes, styrofoam, insect pins and a field guide.
It all seems much less daunting now.
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I've never seen them for sale anywhere, and I'm pretty sure we bought them from my teacher who ordered them in bulk, so I'm going to say find a source online
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 9:28am | IP Logged
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It's not eligible for Prime, but Amazon has them.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 9:38am | IP Logged
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We love collecting, but have never had room to mount or display. Instead, we keep all our specimens in watchmakers cases. I just find these easier to store when you end up with SEVERAL different butterflies and bugs, etc. - all in varying forms of "intact-ness" IYKWIM!
I like being able to stack the cases to store them, and we periodically set them out to display and revisit our collections. The kids enjoy that the top is clear and you can see the specimen without touching (important for younger siblings so they can handle the case but not the fragile dead creature).
These also work well for seed specimens and other small botanical collections.
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Jen Mackintosh
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 11:38am | IP Logged
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Thanks for the link. What is the difference between a #2 and #3 pin?
I'm wondering if they are for different size bugs?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 04 2013 at 12:21pm | IP Logged
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I found this link, which has a less expensive option that I would think would be fine for this age, and it is only available in the 4. I'm pretty sure a 2, 3, or 4 is fine for a beginner, the others being for particularly large or small specimens.
ETA: My assumption regarding the less expensive pins is that when they say "short term use only," they are speaking to the hard core amateur or even professional who is likely wanting something of archival quality.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Bug collecting and mounting
