Dried Insect Specimens

This Antlion larva is a vicious looking little animal that is a cool addition to your insect collection. The Antlion larva is a soft bodied insect so the proper way to preserve and display it is suspended in 70% ethanol. This creature creates a small sand pit and hides beneath the sand at the bottom. When an unsuspecting victim slips into the sand pit the little monster emerges from the bottom of the pit and devours it. Sounds like the plot of many scary monster movies.

<--- See it in BugGuide Chelymorpha cassidea

not further identified                         Click the Camera icon to view the BugGuide information on this specimen as well as several photo examples.

These mite are found on the surface of many Bess Beetles. They are minute in size but easy to collect by scraping or brushing the off the beetle. I preserve them in a 1/2 dram vial of ethanol.

Betsy Beetles are a large beetle that looks great in a school insect collection. The Betsy Beetle also go by the names Bess Beetle, Bess Bug, Betsy Beetle or Bug, Patent Leather Beetle and Peg Beetle depending on the area of the country they are collected. They feed on fungi found in rotting wood. They are easily collected by tearing into a rotting log in the woodlands. Where one is present there are usually many. 

The Bumble Flower Beetle is found throughout the United States from East Coast to West Coast. The specimen pictured was collected in South Dakoda and is representative of the dead insect specimen you would receive.

<--- See it in BugGuide Not Further Identified

The Dark Flower Scarab is found throughout the United States from Texas to Florida and Nebraska to New York. The specimen pictured was collected in Missouri on a leaf of some Oak seedlings. The specimen pictured is representative of the dead insect specimen you would receive. 

The Deathwatch Beetle infests old hardwood rafter. Often at night the the clicking sound made by the adult deathwatch beetle can be heard. The name comes from the belief that the clicking sound made by the adult beetle is a forcast of an impending death.

This specimen is in a gel-cap for protection and easy handling. The specimen can be easily removed for viewing under a microscope. The gel-cap can be pinned through for placement in a collection when point mounting is not desired.