Guide to Pinning Insects

How to set up your insect box: Organize your insects in an “insect collection box” according to the order in which they belong. Each order must have a label. The heads of all insects should point towards the top of your collection box when the short sides of the box are on the left and right. All boxes must be covered with a clear protective material such as glass or plastic wrap. (It is easiest to pin and place your insects on a piece of covered cardboard or Styrofoam and then to place the cardboard or Styrofoam in a Tupperware container, a shoe box, a wooden box, etc.)

Information that you need to provide for each insect: On small square pieces of paper (identification tags) the following information needs to be placed: Tag 1 (top tag) Locality of collection (town, county, state, etc.) Date of collection Name of collector Tag 2 (bottom tag) Common name The tags need to be placed on the insect pin below the insect so that they can be read from the left-hand side.

How to pin your insects: For small or fragile adult insects: Glue to the point of a small triangular piece of rigid white paper, so that the insect pin goes through the center of the base of the triangle, the triangle points towards the left, and the head of the insect is towards the top of the box.

How to pin your insects: For soft bodied insects or larvae: Place in a vial of alcohol. (Information to be placed on tags will be written on the outside of the vial.)

How to pin your insects: Coleoptera (beetles) Pin should pass down through the right outer wing.

How to pin your insects: Hemiptera and Homoptera (true bugs, aphids, and leafhoppers) Pin should pass through the triangular scutellem, slightly to the right.

How to pin your insects: Lepidoptera and Odonata (butterflies, moths, and dragonflies) Pin should pass through the center of the thorax. Place (and pin) narrow strips of paper over the wings to spread them nicely while the insect dries.

How to pin your insects: Orthoptera (grasshoppers) Pin should pass through right of the scutellum. Left wing should be pulled out and pinned with a strip of paper while drying.

How to pin your insects: For all other insects: Pin directly through the thorax a little to the right of the midline of the body. Leave about ¼ inch of the pin visible above the specimen. Make sure the insect is level on the pin (not tipped from front to back or side to side)

How to pin your insects:

Remember… You must have at least 25 different insects in at least 5 orders. 1 extra credit point will be given for each (different) insect above twenty-five and 3 extra credit points will be given for each extra order, up to 25 extra credit points. The grade for your collection will be considered a test grade. Due Date: Monday, October 24th. No late collections will be accepted.