I catch insects to upload on iNat and just for fun. Do you have any tips on how to catch them safely or better?
If you want to photo them alive (catch and release), the different groups of insects have different tricks to them.
-moths, planthoppers, and other flighty insects can be āchilledā in the fridge and posed for photos (lots of the best moth photographers on inat do this)
-dragonflies you can just hold by the wings in the field and get closeups of them before releasing them (make sure to hold them by all 4 wings so they canāt flap around and injure themselves)
-Orthoptera I tend to hold lightly by the thorax (not legs, as theyāll just drop them to escape) and try to get a photo of the terminalia (the appendages at the end of the abdomen, often useful for ID)
-Mantises and stick insects will usually just pose right in your hand and not need to be restrained for pictures
Generally I try to avoid taking photos of them through a net or a jar, as that obscures what they look like pretty badly for the pictures.
Theyāve all got their own tricks though, so itāll all depend on the insect. Try to handle a moth like itās a dragonfly or a mantis like itās a katydid, and it wonāt go well for the critter or the photographer.
What I would say isā¦ if you enjoy catching the thing, think about how to encourage that type of thing. What is the host plantā¦ would planting its host plant encourage more things. If catching the thing is bothersome to the thing, you can stay on the positive side of the ledger by installing plants that encourage that type of thing. :)
If you use the fridge chill method to slow things down, then doesnāt the ācatch-and-releaseā system really become the ācatch in the field-chill at home-and-hopefully return them to their capture locationā?
Thatās the problem I have with capture and take home methods. I have to drive to so many of my observation sites that I would not have time and or the schedule to do this without respecting the health and safety of the collected specimens. Backyard stuff, sure. But thatās about it.
It makes me wonder how much impact amateur observers have on some of the rarer or threatened species.
Also, if you have the skills (and will) to do microscope dissection to species where that is the only way to confirm an ID (and thatās a lot of species!), does that have a measurable impact on some populations, or is the āsacrificeā driven by scientific data building ā or building oneās lifer list?
Of course, if youāre working for real research, specimen collection takes on a different set of protocols and possibly, research values.
That can be challenging. Iām lucky enough to live in the woods, and Iāve definitely never carried stuff home to chill and release later. Itās really a method that works best for stuff youāre finding locally around your house.
Certainly not on most populations. There are a few very rare and threatened species where Iād never suggest capturing individuals unless it was absolutely necessary, but overall amateur collecting efforts are beyond roundoff error when it comes to population size (personally, I collect specimens, but I also bought a few acres of lawn and refuse to mow it- so my net impact on local bug populations is positive compared to someone who āonly takes picturesā and then mows their lawn, killing more bugs in an hour than Iād collect in a decade)
This is the classic āintentionā argument thatās been the subject of many, many ethics debates about insects. Youāll get the same answer from any researcher who works with natural history collections of insects: the institutional collections used in research projects today are the personal collections built by amateurs of yesterday. Iāve been to most of the large institutional collections in the eastern USA, and the vast majority of the specimens there were not collected by a particular researcher for a particular project; they were collected by enthusiasts who went out into the wilderness and just caught whatever they could to see what was there. They build their own collection, for whatever reason inspires them, then when they die the collection goes to one of the institutions, and they excitedly incorporate it into their own. Over the decades, the institution combines thousands of donations and builds the invaluable research resource we know today.
So the dichotomy that exists in many peopleās minds between ācollecting for researchā and ācollecting for personal reasonsā is simply moot. It all ends up being for research eventually, and I have yet to meet an entomological researcher who discourages amateurs from starting a collection. The specimens people in 2100 will be dissecting or putting under a microscope are the ones being collected right now by some random kid starting her first bug collection. Thatās not to say everyone needs to collect specimens and keep them. It takes a lot of work and storage space to maintain, and itās not everyoneās cup of tea. I photograph and release the vast majority of bugs that I catch, even though I also have a collection.
As for
I would argue it doesnāt matter. In either case, the data has been produced, the bug has been unalived, and the specimen will end up in an institutional collection eventually either way. Personally, Iāve volunteered to dissect hundreds of specimens from a large university collection to help them with IDs, Iāve helped other amateurs by dissecting their personal specimens to ID them, and Iāve dissected thousands of my own specimens. That last thing technically builds my life list and those first two things donāt, and I canāt say get any more or less satisfaction out of one than the other. But even if I did, Iāll be dead in 50 years, all the specimens will end up in the same boxes at the university, no one will care about my personal life list, and the personal motivations and institutional affiliations behind the specimensā collectors will have no impact on their value to the next generationās research.
Iāve never done it before - and donāt currently intend to start - but if someone wanted to catch and chill and release bugs on the go, couldnāt they bring small cooler? I donāt know how cold you have to get them, but that might avoid the issues inherent to transporting the bugs off-site.
I donāt know about moths, but with dragonflies and damsels, it doesnāt have to be that cold or for that long, Freezer packs in a fabric cooler bag would do the trick, for a minute at most. Just enough time for them to get a little sleepy.
Iāve never done it myself either, but I have a project in mind that will involve taking detailed measurements, so I researched the method in anticipation of having to make a damselfly hold still.
Most moths I see I donāt even need to catch because they arenāt flying 99% of the time. I just stay still so it doesnāt fly away and take photos.
Other ways to sedate insects before the photo shootā¦
- Temperature: You can chill them in the fridge or in a small cooler with ice packs. (Remember to set a timer!).
- I couldnāt find a good article about this. But I know it dose take more preparation then just tossing them in a cooler with the beer. If you find a tutorial, please share.
- Pooting: You can use a āpootā (ie aspirator), which is basically a long straw that you use to suck an insect or spiders into a tube. Is safe for you and them.
- Brief description - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspirator\_(entomology) .
- Here is a randomly selected video on a DYI poot. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQeV2eqqOcQ&t=7s
- CO2: You can use carbon dioxide to temporarily sedate them. Either with dissolving tablets or gas CO2 by adapting an at-home carbonated water system like SodaStream.
-
Hereās a tutorial on making a DYI insect Anesthesia box out of a paintball CO2 canister. https://www.instructables.com/Rapid-Insect-Anesthesia/
-
Here a tablet based kit - https://www.carolina.com/flies/carbon-dioxide-anesthetizer-kit/173034.pr?srsltid=AYCX9vIt6HVuAAed3b7A3chkQ_VLVTTKICrVHbETrdHSS6uw-8kE4dkB
Entomology forums will have more advise, or try macro-photogaphy groups if you want to avoid discussions of āpinningā. Iām a new insect catcher too, so I havenāt tried these techniques myself yet, only read about them. Let us know what you try and how it went.
A good clear shot of the back and head of a moth is great, but for some hard to ID species, IDer need to see other body parts, like the antenna, hindwing or ventral wing pattern.
You certainly donāt have to do a sedated photoshoot with every moth, but it really helps if you can get a ventral (underside) shot too.
If you put the moth in a transparent container (glass tuperware is fine) you can get a shot from below. Even if there is glare or distortion from the container, a bad photo is better then no ventral photo.
And please try to get a clear photo of the antenna! This is how IDer determine the gender of a moth and it really helps with IDing.
Try Bug catchers, nets and trapsā¦
Humane bug catchers are usually sold for kids or aracnophobes, but they are very handy for iNatting too.
I like my Caron bug catcher. - https://www.carson.com/product/hu-10-en . Its compact and I like that the lower plate slides into place, so you donāt accidentally trap the insectsā leg. But I should have kept mine in a bag, the plastic was pretty scratched up after a summer of bug catching. Iām looking to upgrade to a long-handled model.
Every entomologist should have a net. I only have a cheap butterfly net. I wish I had gotten one with a telescoping handle.
For aquatic insects, you can make a D-shaped dip net. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mENCJuV86DI&t=4s
Depending on what type of insect you want to catch, you can also try various insect lures and traps. Light traps are great for moths and flying insects. But also look into Malaise Traps, pitfall traps and pheromone traps.
Ants you can grab by one (or more) of the legs. With stinging ants I tend to hold two legs to pin it in a certain direction, where the gaster falls wholly on your fingernail so that it cannot penetrate flesh. Though many donāt pick up stinging insects at allā¦
Iāve used CO2 on fruit flies in the lab and it works quite well because you can just add a bit when it starts moving again, so you donāt have to do too much. Iād never seen a set up that could be used in the field, cheers!
Also impressed with CO2 hack. I just tried photographing through glass jar/plastic cup after netting them.