Invertebrate Collecting Techniques

[findi]

Over the past several decades, I have collected a wide variety of invertebrates for use in feeding amphibians under my care in zoo collections and at home. Most of the techniques I use, such as beating foliage, sweeping through tall grass with a net, light-based insect traps, termite traps and leaf-litter collection, are tried and true tricks borrowed from field entomologists, and are very effective.

To read more about this topic, please see the following Collecting Live Food: an Entomologist's Technique http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...s-and-amphibians-an-entomologist’s-technique/, Leaf Litter Invertebrates as a Food Source http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...-small-insectivorous-amphibians-and-reptiles/, Building a termite Trap http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thatr...rogs-and-other-small-amphibians-and-reptiles/ and Feeding Insects to Birds: useful Products designed for reptiles (re light traps) http://blogs.thatpetplace.com/thata...irds-–-useful-products-designed-for-reptiles/.

Happy hunting!

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Excellent!

I personally swear by the old "mason jar pit fall" method for catching nocturnal, terrestrial invertebrates.

Simply bury a glass jar in the ground up to the rim (lid removed, but saved for later). The trap can be baited with dry dog food or a bit of fruit, or not baited at all! Place a large flat rock, or a piece of wood over top of it to keep the rain out. Raise this cover up with a few small stones. Check your traps each morning, screw the lid back onto the jar and pull it out of the ground for easy, touch free examination of your catch. I have found baiting the trap with some rotten, wet wood makes collecting woodlice a snap. One note on this method, I do not suggest using it is areas that have scorpions...I learned this the hard way in California.


For capturing garden slugs, I modified a bit of information from the Farmer's Almanac. Slugs find beer irresistible! I crumple up a few sheets of paper toweling and soak it with (cheap!) beer. I place this in an aluminum pie dish and set it in my garden over night. Shortly after sunrise, the paper toweling is covered with slugs.

 

[Otterwoman]

Thanks for that slug idea, Johnny! I always wondered how to capitalize on the slugs-liking-beer to catch them without drowning them. Great idea!
Now all I have to do is find some beer...since I don't drink much, it'll be a can opened just for soaking paper. Well, all in the name of science.