To catch insects under stones and and boards all you need is a
killing jar and a pair of tweezers. You probably have to go no further
than your back yard to find stones and boards lying around. After that
you can try fields, paths, and wooded areas. Have your jar and tweezers
ready, turn over the rock/board, and with your hand or tweezers catch
what insects you can see. A large variety of insects can be collected
this way including beetles, ants, termites, earwigs, roaches, firebrats,
and crickets. Once you have collected the insects under a rock or board,
be sure to put the rock/board back the way you found it. This is
important as it provides shelter for many types of animals and should be
disturbed as little as possible.
Loose bark on logs and trees can be home to a variety of insects such
as Ambrosia Beetles, Bark Beetles, Darkling Beetles, Ground beetles, and
sometimes moths and bees. Find a log or tree with loose bark, peal the
bark back and see what you find. Collect what you find with tweezers and
a killing jar.
Walk through wooded areas and look for old or fallen down trees. many
of these trees will have shelf fungus growing on them. Break open and
tear apart the shelf fungus or mushrooms and with your tweezers, collect
the insect that you find. Pleasing Fungus Beetles, Saw-tooth
Fungus Beetles, and Minute Fungus beetles can be collected this way.
Walk through densely wooded areas and find fallen trees and stumps
that have been there long enough to rot. Use a small chisel to break
away chunks of rotten wood. Tear apart the rotten wood and tear away at
the logs to see what you find. Again, tweezers and a killing jar are the
best tools to use for collecting in rotten wood. I have found Bess
beetles, Darkling Beetles, Termites, Ants, and Roaches this
way. This winter I even found 20 or 30 Metallic Sweat bees hibernating
throughout the rotten wood.
Many different types of insects may be found in dried leaves, sticks,
and debris lying on the ground in parks, by lakes, and in wooded areas.
Collect a sample of the debris in a large trash bag or trash can. Spread
your sample over a white sheet and with your killing jar and tweezers,
see what you find. Another way to remove the insects from your sample is
through the aid of a Burlese funnel or a Separator. Find more
information on the Burlese funnel and the separator in the section on
Many insects are attracted to lights at night. Because of this, porch
lights and street lights are a great place to collect. The tools needed
will be an aerial net, a killing jar, tweezers, and an aspirator
(see page on Insect Traps). As it starts to get dark outside,
turn on your porch light and see what turns up. For most of the insects
you will just need a jar and some tweezers. If you are lucky enough to
have Giant Silkworm Moths like the Polythenus Moth or Cecropia
Moth, then the aerial net will com in handy. Very small insects like
mosquitoes, gnats, and leafhoppers can be collected with an aspirator.
There are also many types of light traps and night traps that can be
used with great success (see page on Insect Traps).
The windows of your house might be a good place to find insects both
dead and alive. Many types of flies, gnats, moths, beetles, bees, and
wasps can be found inside the window sills. Many insects fly in, become
trapped, and die. A jar and tweezers is all you will need.
Visit wood piles at different times of the year. There you will find
Ground Beetles, Bess Beetles, Earwigs, Crickets, Rove Beetles, Termites,
and Ants. Be careful when disturbing wood piles and sticks as this can
provide shelter for poisonous snakes. In fact, is is a good idea to have
a first aid kit and snake bite kit handy when going on a bug hunt.
Many insects make
plant galls to protect themselves during certain stages of
development. Walk along any wooded path and examine the leaves for
galls. Place the galls in a jar with mesh over the mouth and wait for
something to emerge. You can find many different types of wasps, flies,
sawflies, and moths this way. When they emerge transfer the jar straight
to the freezer to kill them for your collection.
Whenever you go bug hunting, weather in a field, in the woods, or at
the lake, always be prepared to collect live specimens such as cocoons,
pupae, galls, and eggs. Put them in an insect cage, or a jar with air
holes in the lid. When the adult insect emerges, you have a prefect
specimen for your collection.
A sweep net (see page on Insect Traps) is a good way to
catch large quantities of common, and unusual insects. Simply sweep an
area of grass weeds, brush or leaves and see what gets trapped in the
net. I have caught katydids, bush crickets, robber flies, treehoppers,
planthoppers, leafhoppers, leaf beetles and much more with this method.
Flowers attract a variety of insects that can be readily collected
with a jar or sweep net. I have caught many different species of bees
and wasps as well as an endless variety of beetles using this method.
Visit the flower garden in your yard or wildflowers in a grassy field.
Usually all you will need is a killing jar.
Digging deep in the ground can turn up many insects too. For this you
will need a shovel, some buckets, and a large trough of water.
With your shovel, did down as much as 10 inches into the soil and place
the dirt in the buckets for transport. Take your samples to a water
trough and empty the dirt in the water. Live insect specimens will float
to the top. This is a great way to collect Mole Crickets and other
A large variety of insects live on, in or around streams, rivers, and
lakes. Dragonflies and damselflies fly search patterns over lakes
and ponds and can be caught with an aerial net and some practice.
Whirligig Beetles and Diving Beetles that live in the shallow water of
lakes can be collected with an aquatic net. On the surface of small
ponds and puddles you can find Water Spiders and Backswimmers. Water
Bugs can be collected in streams and rivers with an aquatic net or an
aquatic trap. Scoop water from a pond or lake and pour it along the
shoreline. Catch what crawls out.
Sometimes insect pests invade the kitchen panty where cereals, flour
and other grain products are stored. Flower Beetles and Grain Beetles
can be found in boxes of cereal and bags of flour. The infestation
becomes more obvious when milk is added to the cereal and the insects
float to the top. Indian Meal Moths can be found flying around lights
near the pantry.
Silverfish and book lice can be found in books stored in boxes in
closets. An aspirator is useful in collecting these small insects. Cloth
Moths can also be found in closets where fabric is stored.
Some insects are attracted to and feed on sap from trees. Look for
bees, wasps, flies and other insects on the side of trees where sap is
flowing. Place a board on top of a freshly cut stump and allow sap to
gather. Look under the board from time to time to see what is feeding
Place a sandwich or soda on a stump. The sandwich will attract Ants
and Flies. The Soda will attract a variety of Ants, Bees, and Wasps. Use
an aerial net and a jar to catch the Bees and Wasps.
Beating Sheets or Beating Umbrellas can be used to collect a large
assortment of insects. The sheet or umbrella is held underneath foliage
while the foliage is beaten with a stick. Collect the insects that fall
onto the sheet.