University of the Witwatersrand – Biotic Diversity (APES 2015)
2016 Insect Collecting Project (Please retain and attach this sheet to your project)
Name Surname Student # Submission date & time Box #
This project will count half of the class mark and 20% of the final mark.
Marks will be allocated as shown below.
Collect a minimum of 15 insects representing 12 out of a possible 13 common insect orders listed
below and identify these to family level using field guides and the AP&ES Museum Insect Collection.
Work independently (it’s not a group project).
Mount, pin and label each specimen appropriately.
Insect collecting will take place on the two optional fieldtrips, or on your own.
Insect pins (20) and a box (where our stocks permit) will be provided during the first (and only) insect
practical.
We have a limited number of nets and field guides that will be reserved for the two field trips.
Where after the nets can be lent out and field guides used in the laboratory (when it’s not in use for other
practicals).
Your project will NOT be returned to you, as its specimens will be used to expand the insect collection
housed in the AP&ES Museum for future teaching and research purposes.
For ethyl acetate and net loans please see Mrs Thabitha Lebakeng in the Museum during these times only:
Monday to Friday – 11:30 to 13:00.
Insect Order Common name/s Number of taxa to be collected
from selection of 13 orders
1) Odonata Dragonflies and Damselflies 1 or 2 to family level
2) Blattodea Cockroaches “““““
3) Isoptera Termites “““““
4) Mantodea Praying Mantids “““““
5) Dermaptera Earwigs “““““
6) Orthoptera Crickets and Grasshoppers “““““
7) Phasmatodea Stick Insects “““““
8) Hemiptera True Bugs “““““
9) Neuroptera Lacewings and Antlions “““““
10) Coleoptera Beetles “““““
11) Diptera Flies “““““
12) Lepidoptera Butterflies and Moths “““““
13) Hymenoptera Ants, Bees and Wasps “““““
Mark allocation
Pinning = 30 marks
Correct pin position for insect order; correct pin height; symmetrical and appropriate setting technique for insect order;
specimen quality.
Identification = 30 marks
Correct Order (and number of Orders); correct Family; correct Subfamily (in selected cases only).
Labeling = 20 marks
Complete label data including: Country, Prov., Locality, grid ref, date, collecting method, your name. Pin into the middle of
the label; correct label size; label text must be small and compact, but it must remain legible to the naked eye.
Layout = 20 marks
Taxonomic sequence (Orders in correct sequence, i.e., 1 to 13 above); neat and tidy general presentation; series, i.e.,
more than one of each species and diversity of insects.
Total 100
N.B. Ten (10) marks will be subtracted per exotic insect labeled as coming from South Africa.
No exotic insects allowed, i.e., insects bought from pet shops.
University of the Witwatersrand – Biotic Diversity (APES 2015)
Figure 1. A to G indicates where to place the pin in various insect “body forms”.
Figure 2. Indicates the correct height and angle of the pin to the insect.
Figure 3. Indicates the suggested layout of your insect collection by insect orders and families.
Figure 4. Indicates how one goes about pinning a winged insect. Note how the line of the fore / hind wing
creates a 90° angle with the insects’ body.
Making your own paper locality labels for your pinned insects
Each specimen must be labeled with the information relating to its origin and capture. This must be recorded at
the time of collection and it is convenient to have some small paper labels ready (about 50 x 15 mm) for this
purpose / a field note book. The compulsory information required for every specimen is listed below. Please
use day, month, year for dates; and roman numerals or monthly abbreviations for the month, e.g., 11.ii.2016
or 11 Feb. 2016. Leg. = A Latin abbreviation for “to collect”.
Country: South Africa
Province: NW Province
Locality: Kloofwaters, Magaliesberg
Latitude & Longitude: 25°34'19"S 31°10'53"E
Date: 19-21 Feb. 2016
Collecting technique: e.g. By hand / Netted / Light trap / From water
Collector: Leg. James du G. Harrison
S. AFRICA, NW PROVINCE
Kloofwaters, Magaliesberg
25°48’28’’S 27°29’16’’E
19-21 Feb. 2016, MT light
Leg. James du G. Harrison
How to make labels using MS-Word
1) Open a new document in MS-Word.
2) Type in your first label with the complete information in the correct order (see above). For student
project purposes the identification labels DO NOT go onto the insect pin, but in front of the insect
inside the insect box.
3) Save your file!
4) Using “Page layout” make you margin size as small as possible, thus “Margins”, “Custom margins”, 1
cm.
5) Using “Page layout”, select “Columns”, “More columns” and set it to 8 columns, width 2.25 cm, spacing
0.14 cm for the whole document.
6) Under “Font” choose Arial, 5 point font (type 5 into the little box as the auto scalar only goes to 8).
7) Under “Paragraph” choose 0 pt and single spacing.
8) Now use “Copy and paste” to duplicate your labels to how many you need for each locality. Eventually
your label page should look something like what’s included below.
9) Locality labels should be readable using the naked eye.
Below is a zoomed (200%) screen shot! Your final labels must look like the small Kloofwaters one provided
above.
