What are the basic collection methods of ornamental insects?

There are many kinds of insects with different habits, so different measures should be taken to catch them according to their living habits.

(1) insect net method

The operation points are as follows:

1. Observe the insect situation

Whether it is a fixed-point special collection or a random collection, don't rush in when you first arrive at the collection site. You should first observe the insect situation calmly. Especially in the case of a small number of insects, it is necessary to carefully observe the movements, find out the rules of insect flight, including the height, speed and direction of flight, and make preparations to start catching with nets in combination with factors such as the wind direction and wind belt at that time.

Take advantage of this situation

After finding out the insect situation, when it flies again, it can visually judge its flying direction, altitude and speed, wind direction, wind speed and other instantaneous specific conditions, hold the net handle and aim at the position. When it enters the effective distance, you can lift the net with a wave of your hand and get into it. The so-called homeopathic hunting is to adjust the best position in time according to the direction of insects flying, or catch the net by surprise on the front or side. There is something wrong with a net. You don't have to chase it, you have to wait. If you don't get into one net, wait for the second net.

3. Turn over and seal the mesh opening.

Once the insects enter the net, immediately turn the net bag over, throw the net bottom to the net opening and seal the net opening so that the insects entering the net cannot escape. Throwing the net to catch insects and sealing the net mouth are two continuous and rapid actions, which are a basic operation of catching insects with nets.

Take out the worm and put it in the bag.

The worms that get into the net need to be taken out at once. When taking worms, the net bag is slowly contracted to reduce the scope of its struggling activities in the net, and then when it stops for a while, the insect chest is gently pinched by the net bag to make it stand still, then tweezers are put into the net, taken out with the wing base, put into a poison bottle to die, and then transferred to a triangular paper bag.

(2) Micro-insect brushing method

Some tiny insects, such as aphids, are inactive on the host plants, so it is difficult to sweep them in with insect nets, and the vibration method is also ineffective. At this time, brush it directly into the bottle tube with an ordinary soft pen. When brushing, you should choose a small community with dense insect bodies, and you can brush a lot with one stroke. Pay attention to brush lightly with a pen tip, and don't scratch a lot, otherwise it will hurt the worm.

(3) Search and acquisition methods

Some insects with bugs or hidden habitats need to be carefully observed and looked for according to some signs of their existence. Such as food marks, tooth decay, insect feces, singing and so on. Are all clues that can be traced. In addition, there are often carnivorous beetles under the stones; There are often mosquitoes in tree holes and flower pots that accumulate water after rain; Larvae of Cerambycidae, Cerambycidae and Asian corn borer often leave moth holes and dung marks on their host plants. Pay attention to safety when searching and collecting, and beware of snakes, scorpions and other injuries hidden in tree holes, rocks and grass.

Methods of collecting insects and records of specimen information

In nature, all kinds of insects have different living habits. First of all, we should understand and be familiar with the habits of the investigated objects in order to collect the needed insects. In the process of collection, great attention should be paid to the integrity of specimens. Common acquisition methods are as follows:

Observation method

When collecting insects, we must first find its host and habitat. Whether there are insects can be determined by observing the damage of the host and insect excrement. For example, leaf-eating insects often bite the host leaves into notches, or roll them into leaf bracts, or leave the epidermis by feeding on mesophyll tissue. Worms often cause holes, and some orifices also discharge feces. Insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts often leave pinhole-like spots of different sizes after feeding. Aphids and scale insects excrete honey dew in addition to feeding, which is easy to cause coal pollution diseases, and so on.

Search method

If you have seen the signs of insects but can't collect them, you can use the search method, for example, you can collect beetle larvae in the soil; Collecting beetles and longicorn larvae under bark, branches and trunk; Various warehouse pests can be found in the corner or packaging of the warehouse; Drosophila larvae can often be found in fruits. You can find mango weevil larvae by cutting the fruit.

Shooting down method

Many insects have the characteristic of feign death, and suddenly shock the host plant, making it fall by itself, which is convenient for collection. Such as scarab, weevil, leaf beetle, etc. Aphids, thrips and mites can be directly shot down on plastic pots and cardboard, then collected with a small brush and soaked in alcohol.

Net-catching method

Netting is the most commonly used method to collect insects. Put the insects caught in the poison bottle as soon as possible and take them out when they are completely dead. If it is Lepidoptera, in order to keep the scales from being damaged, after being caught in the net, you can first gently pinch the breasts of moth and butterfly specimens with your thumb and forefinger outside the net to stop their activities. Individuals with larger species can also inject a little alcohol into the chest cavity with a syringe to make them die quickly.

If you use a net to catch insects hidden in weeds and bushes, after sweeping the net several times, pour the insects concentrated at the bottom of the net together with some broken branches and leaves into a poison bottle to kill them, and then pour them on white paper for selection, or pour the specimens into other bags first and then handle them after returning.

Tiny insect brushing method

In some tiny insects that are inactive to the host plants, they can be directly brushed into the bottle with a common soft brush, and care should be taken not to harm the insects.

Trapping method

Taking advantage of the various tropism of insects, various traps are used for trapping.

Specimen information record

It is very important to record relevant information in the process of specimen collection and general survey, and it must be filled in according to relevant forms. Generally include the following items:

Collection time: including year, month and day.

Collection location: including province, city, county, township, village, plot or place.

Host name: the standard Chinese name, the scientific name is better (if you don't know, you should also record the common name), the growth stage of the host, and the source of the seedling.

Hazards: including damaged parts, insect state, damaged degree, damaged state, etc.

Occurrence area: more accurate figures can be obtained by investigating or asking relevant personnel.

Collectors: provide consulting clues for future generations to study such insects and express their responsibility for specimen collection.

4. Marking of insect specimens

The label on the insect specimen is the most original record on the specimen. Labeling is particularly important in the general survey of quarantine pests. The prepared insect specimens should be labeled in time, and various items should be recorded from the collection site. Newly-made specimens should be immediately inserted with two labels: the first label on it says the collection place (province, city, county and town) and the collection time (year, month and day); Write down the name of the host or collection method, environment and collector on the next page. Insect specimens with scientific names have been identified by predecessors, and Chinese names have been determined through systematic research. A third label should be added below, including middle name, scientific name and appraiser name. After research, the specimen is a new species that has not been found before, and the label of new species or subspecies should be added under the specimen.

The label on the insect specimen is inserted under the insect body; The position of the first label on the insect needle is equivalent to the height of the second stage of the third-stage board; The second label is equivalent to the height of the first stage of the third-stage board; The name or mode label is attached to the bottom of the specimen box.

Formal labels are made of hard and smooth white paper. Typesetting and printing into a black box of 1.5 × 1.0cm, with the words of province name, year, month, day and collector printed on it. , so that it can be filled out clearly in the future. In order to prevent the label from fading or being difficult to identify with time, the label soaked in liquid specimen bottles should be cut into 2.5 × 1.5cm specifications with glossy paper with good quality that will not be damaged after long-term immersion. Labels soaked in liquid must be written in water-resistant ink or soft pencil to avoid font fading.