Due Date: ___________

Name: _______________________________ Ecology, Period:_______

Ecology Unit 1 Project Information Sheet INSECT COLLECTION & DICHOTOMOUS KEY I. Type of Project: The purpose of this project is to provide an opportunity for you to observe, collect, and identify insects native to the Mankato area, as well as to practice the pinning process used by entomologists. This project can be broken into three major phases: A) Collecting and pinning: collect insects using traps, nets, or by hand; kill; pin B) Identification and labeling: identify order & common name & label C) Dichotomous Key: create a hand-written dichotomous key for your collection II. What do you turn in? To receive maximum credit, turn in 2 pieces of work on the due date: 1. A collection of 12 pinned and labeled insects, each of a different species (60 points). Each insect is worth 5 points2 for proper pinning, 2 for correct identifying and labeling, 1 for simply having it (please see attached sheet for pinning & labeling instructions).
***EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: If your collection is representative of more than 6 orders of insects, you will received an extra credit point for each additional order. (7 orders=1 extra credit point, 8 orders=two extra credit points, etc)

2. A dichotomous key to identify insects within your collection (15 points). (Please see attached sheet for instructions on creating a dichotomous key). III. Grading Rubric
Number of Insects 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 /12 Number of insects appropriately pinned (for respective order) Number of insects properly labeled 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (x2) /24 Upper Label: order & common name; Lower Label: county, date, (DD X YYYY), name Total Points Comments

INSECT COLLECTION Number of Insects (species) in collection

10

11

12 (x2) /24

Neatness Legible labels, insects pinned in living positions EXTRA CREDIT: Number of orders represented (1 pt for each beyond 6) DICHOTOMOUS KEY Number of insects from your collection correctly identified through use of key Neatness

5 /5

10

11

12

/0

10

11

12

/12

3 /3

Project Total:

/ 80

COLLECTING AND IDENTIFYING INSECTS

A QUICK GUIDE Contents: I. Collecting Insects II. Pinning Insects III. Labeling Insects IV. Creating a dichotomous key I. Collecting Insects In addition to the pitfall traps you have made in class, you may also collect insects using a net, or by hand. Be sure to have a labeled collecting jar with you, so that you have something to store it in immediately. To kill the insect, place the insect into a sealed kill jar, also containing a cotton ball soaked in fingernail polish remover, or ethanol (provided by school in lab). For safety purposes, be sure to label this jar to indicate which poison was used. Insects may also be placed in the freezer over night. Because insects have a large surface area to volume body ratio, they tend to dry out quite quickly, making them difficult to pin. Before you move on to part II (pinning) be sure to relax your insects in a relaxing chamber for 1 or 2 days to soften up the body. Relaxing Chambers If specimens are allowed to dry out or become brittle, they may shatter when being pinned. Dry specimens can be made soft and pliable again by placing them in a relaxing chamber for 1 or 2 days. To make a relaxing chamber, place 1 to 2 inches of clean sand or sawdust in the bottom of a large, airtight jar. The jar must be large enough to allow small dishes to be placed inside, and must have a screw type or other lid to create airtight conditions inside the bottle. Saturate the sand with clean water and add a few drops of carbolic acid (sold at most drug stores) to prevent mold growth. Place the specimens in shallow, open containers on the bottom of the jar, and fit the lid tightly on the relaxing chamber. Amount of relaxing time needed varies with the size of the insect and how dry it is when first introduced. Retrieve and mount specimens as soon as they are pliable enough to pin easily, but remember that they can be ruined if left in a relaxing jar too long. Relaxing the wings of dry butterflies and moths is essential to allow them to be properly spread. The relaxing chamber should be used for emergencies, not as a general practice. It is always best to pin specimens within a few hours after collection and avoid the need for relaxing chambers. II. Pinning Insects Any insect that is large enough to be supported on a pin without breaking or otherwise being distorted is pinned directly through the body. Insert the pin through the body from top to bottom. The proper place of insertion depends upon the type of insect (Figure 15). The following rules are for pinning different types of insects so that the pin

is placed firmly through the heavier parts of the body without destroying important identifying characteristics. o Bees, wasps, flies, etc. Pin through the thorax between bases of fore wings and slightly to right of middle line (Figure 1A). o True bugs Pin through the scutellum, which is the triangular area between the bases of the wings (Figure 1B). o Grasshoppers, crickets, etc. Pin through the prothorax or saddle slightly to the right of the center line (Figures 1C and 1D). o Beetles Pin through the forepart of the right wing cover near the centerline (Figure 1E). o Butterflies, moths, dragonflies, etc. Pin through center of thorax between the bases of forewings (Figures 1F and 1G).

Figure 1: Proper pinning placement of insect orders

Figure 2: Placement of a pin, side view.

A piece of 1-inch thick Styrofoam is an excellent aid for pinning or mounting specimens. As each specimen is pinned, push the pin into the foam until the insect rests on the surface with approximately one-quarter to one-third of the pin projecting above the insect to facilitate handling of the specimen. Adjust the legs, antennae, and wings to a lifelike position with forceps and hold them in place with extra pins if needed. Allow the specimen to dry in the desired position for 7 to 8 days before moving. To prevent sagging, the abdomens of soft-bodied insects, such as crickets, mantids, or walking sticks, can be further supported with two temporary pins crossed at an angle such that the abdomen rests where the pins cross. Pieces of light cardboard supported on other pins can also serve this purpose. Once dry, the specimen will retain the proper position and the temporary supports can be removed. Flat sheets of Styrofoam or other porous material also provide a handy place for the temporary holding of pinned specimens while they are labeled, identified, or arranged in display boxes.

III.

Labeling Insects To be of scientific value, each specimen must be accompanied by information including the location (county and state) and date (day, month, year) of its capture and the name or initials of the collector. To avoid confusion, the month should be written in roman numerals and should always occur between the day and the year. These data are printed on a small label (Figure 22) placed on the pin beneath the specimen. A specimen in a collection for scientific purposes frequently has secondary labels on the pin indicating the host or habitat of the specimen or its identification (ex: Seven Mile Creek or Mankato West Grounds).

Figure 3. Sample label.

Figure 4. Label placement on pin.

The most important label should be mounted closest to the insect. This label must have the name of the state and county where the insect was collected, as well as the date and the name of the collector. The label should be positioned in line with the length of the insect. Additional labels, indicating hosts and identification, may be placed lower on the pin and oriented as in Figure 3. IV. Creating a dichotomous key Dichotomous keys are:

EXAMPLE: Dichotomous Key (Separating Arachnida from Insecta) Starting with question #1, determine which statement (a or b) is true for your creature. Follow the directions at the end of that true statement. 1. a. b. a. b. Creature has 8 legs (you have an arachnid!) ...................go to Arachnid Key Creature has 6 legs (you have an insect!) .................go to #2 (next question) Insect has wings ..........................................................go to Winged Insect Key Insect does not have wings ...............................................Wingless Insect Key

2.

(etc) Theres your refresherafter having created the baseball dichotomous key in class, you should have a solid understanding of how to create an identification key!
Information obtained from the following websites: http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/401Book/default.php?page=labeling_specimens AND http://www.biologyjunction.com/insect_collection.htm