Honors Biology Insect Collection
All students entering Illiana Christian High School’s Freshman Honors Biology course will be required to complete an
insect collection.
All projects are due the first Wednesday in October by 3:15 pm. This project is worth approximately 20% of the
student’s first quarter grade. Any questions regarding the project should be directed to me (Mr. Sylvester) at
[email protected] or by calling my home at 219‐923-3924. I will check email periodically, but I may be
unavailable during certain periods of time throughout the summer.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce students to the process of taxonomy using the binomial
nomenclature system, as well as to heighten their awareness of the diversity of God’s creation in the insect class.
Outcome: At the conclusion of the project, the student will have a thorough understanding of the binomial
nomenclature classification process and experience locating and preserving live specimens.
Process: Students should spend the summer and early fall collecting insects; at least 50 different types are required
for an A. An insect is an organism belonging to the Class Insecta. Look up the characteristics of insects to help you
decide if you have an insect or not. Insects includes moths, flies, butterflies (don’t collect caterpillars), ants, bees,
beetles, silverfish, etc. Remember, spiders, pill bugs and worms are NOT insects.
The insect collection project may be presented in one of two ways. In both presentations insects are captured,
preserved, classified & brought in by the due date. For those techno savvy individuals, option 2 may be the choice for
you since it allows you to use both digital photography & power point. In addition it is easy to transport to & from
school. For those who like the more traditional approach, option 1 would be for you.
Option 1. The collection may be presented in a traditional way, mounted & labeled on poster board or case.
Follow the steps below adapted from Hoebeke.
Option 2. The collection may be presented as a digital power point display.
-Once the insect has been captured and preserved, snap some digital pictures of the insect on
a suitable background & use the best photographs in your power point presentation.
-Pictures must have a resolution higher than 4.0 megapixels.
-Each insect photographed must have a U.S. nickel next to it for scale.
-It is recommended that multiple light sources be used to prevent excess shadowing.
-The images of the insects should be taken close enough to make a clear identification.
-Any image that cannot be used to clearly identify the insect will lose points.
-Each image slide should have an image that is as large as possible (but still include
appropriate information.)
-Store each insect in its own labeled, zip lock type, sandwich baggie.
-Your total collection of insects should then be stored in suitably sized box.
Follow Hoebeke but it may not be necessary to use a pin if you can get a good enough picture of the
preserved insect without.
To properly collect & preserve insects, please follow the instructions below (they have been adapted from Daniel
Hoebeke, 2001):
1. Catch insects very carefully using nets, jars, hands, etc. (no hammers please). Putting a white sheet under a bush and
shaking the bush, sometimes gives results for non‐flying insects.
2. Fill out the Insect Field Log as soon after capture as possible. You will need an entry for each insect in your collection.
The insect numbers in the log correspond to the order in which they were caught. You will need more than the sheet
I’ve given you, so either make some copies of it or send me an e-mail & I’ll send one to you.
3. Put the insect in a plastic bag in the freezer for about an hour.
4. Remove it from the freezer and after it has thawed (about 15 minutes) immediately mount it in the position you
desire. You may want to use toothpicks and a piece of Styrofoam for this initial mounting process.
5. Put the insect into the microwave for five seconds on full power (the idea is to kill the microorganisms, not to fry the
insect). Then wait one minute and then microwave it for another five seconds. Then again, wait another minute and
microwave it for an additional five seconds. This should kill any microorganisms.
6. Next take your pin, needle or professional mounting pin, rub it with Vaseline and mount the bug to your background,
such as heavy cardboard. If you wait too long to permanently mount your specimen, it may dry out and become
brittle. The Vaseline will help in the event you ever need to replace it or move the pin.
7. Identify the insect using the Internet or other resources, such as the sites below, or a good field guide like
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders (Amazon has them for about $14 new).
http://www.cirrusimage.com/, http://bugguide.net/ & http://www.digital-librarian.com/insects.html
There are also several books in class that are property of Illiana that can be used as a reference.
**Note the order Homoptera is generally no longer used and Mantodea has been placed into the order
Dictyoptera.
8. Create a label (no hand written labels) for each insect and mount the label next to the specimen. The label should
contain the insect’s common name, scientific name (Genus/species if possible), and numbered according to the number
in your insect field log. Their scientific name should be in italics or underlined. Insects should be organized according to
their order classification. The order names should appear somewhere on the board or in the power point.
Grading: Points will be given for the following:
1) Number of insects correctly ordered (at least 50 different insects for an A)
The insects must have a numbered label next to them that corresponds to their number in the field log.
2) A buffer of extra identified insects.
3) Neatness and presentation of insects, labels and display board (there should be nothing hand written on the
display). The specimen should be mounted (or photographed) so that the distinguishing characteristics are
visible. The power point slides should have numbers corresponding to the insect field log as well as pictures
taken close enough to identify.
4) The quality of insects presented.
5) Thoroughness of Insect field log.
Insect Field Log
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
Insect #
Insect classification name
Location
(City & state)
Date
Environment
(pond, forest, field, etc.)
Collected by
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