COLLECTING AND KEEPING INSECTS

COLLECTING AND KEEPING INSECTS
If you want to collect insect you must keep them in surrounding that are as near as possible like their natural homes . When  you find an insect , put it in small in with a sample of the plant on which you found it. This will help you to identify it .
Number each tin. Put down the numbers in your notebook and against each one , write a description of the insect and where you found it . Was it in a dry or damp place , a sunny or a shady place ?
When you get home make a suitable home for your insects. You will need containers that  are big enough to hold to hold enough food and give the insect some room to move around.It is best to use glass or clear plastic containers , then you can see what is happening inside .
It is usually a good idea to put some sand or soil at the bottom , With a stone and some plants .Keep the containers in a cool places away from the sunlight, but not in a drought . Make sure you have a good supply of fresh food and change it each day . Most caterpillars have their own particular food plant and will not eat anything else. There is no point in collecting them the right food supply . Look at the insect in your zoo every day and record any changes that you see . You could keep a note of how much caterpillars eat and measure their length , or what happens to them when they pupate .In late summer , you may find Grasshoppers and crickets. Keep them in a large glass  case or jar and put sand in the bottom . Put in fresh grass every other day.
It is easy to collect insects but remember that they are very fragile handle them as little as possible and do not collect more than you need to study once you have finished looking at them .Take them the insect back to the insect the place where you find them. Let flying insect go at dusk so that birds or cats do not attack them.
Make a moth cage and keep it out of the sun. In hot weather  spray it with water . If you  want the Moths to breed , put in the right plant for the larvae to feed  on .
Keep a Dragonfly nymph on its own in a large jam jar and feed it on raw meat .Put in an upright stick for nymph to cling to when it sheds its skin.You could also make a pitfall trap . Try different baits such as jam raw  meat fruit or beer .Keep a record of the insects that are attracted by each bait.  Keep lady birds in large case like this to give them room to fly . They feed on green fly , which are often found on rose shoots . Cut off the whole shoot and keep it in water.
Great diving beetle and Water Boatmen are very fierce , so keep each one on its  own .Feed them on maggots or raw meat attached to a thread and changed daily . You can attract moths by sugaring at dusk , paint tree trunks or post with a mixture of black track and rum or beer . It is best to sugar on warm , Still nights.
Collect butterfly or moth eggs in small boxes , and wait for them to hatch. When the caterpillars are a few hours old transfer them with a brush to box with a  young leaf of their food plant. Put them on a new leaf each other.