Collection Methods - Entomology
Looking for aquatic beetles in a small stream at Tapanti National Park
We use a bright light to attract insects and night-- in the morning, our sheet is still covered with moths and other insects
Collecting insects at lights in Tapanti
A flight intercept trap (FIT) is used to collect dispersing insects, that fly into the screen and fall into the pans below, which hold a preservative fluid
A kind of trap for soil insects called a berlese funnel.
Taro looking for small insects from sifted leaf litter
Collection Methods - Entomology
Collecting insects requires a variety of different methods. For example, trapping insects at night might require different equipment than during the day. Some insects live in the soil, in or near water, on small plants and on trees, so collection methods change depending on the type of habitat, too. These photographs show some of the collection methods used by Andrew Short, entomology curator, during a 2010 expedition in Costa Rica. Return to the 2011 Costa Rica expedition page.
