Although
pinned voucher specimens are the “gold standard” for identifying insects in
surveys, in some circumstances it may be undesirable to kill the study
subjects. If insects can be caught be
net and then released, digital photographs can record details that improve the
accuracy of identifications. We
describe a simple piston-and-cylinder holding chamber that quickly,
temporarily, and harmlessly restrains bees or similar insects for portraiture
in the field. Tested in large surveys of
bumble bees in Colorado USA, this device was able to prevent a substantial
number of misidentifications.
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Photograph: Students
netting bumble bees near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in
Colorado. Recent surveys along
elevational transects have been conducted for comparison to similar surveys
carried out in 1974 (see Pyke GH, Inouye DW, Thomson JD (2011) Activity and
abundance of bumble bees near Crested Butte, Colorado: diel, seasonal, and
elevation effects. Ecological Entomology 36:511–521). Because many pollination researchers work at
the RMBL, its Research Committee asks investigators to minimize the killing of
specimens.
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Read the scientific publication in JPE.
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