Insect identification (warning: there are pictures of spiders!)

While packing up pitfall and fogging equipment I wouldn't need again till next field season I peeked into the freezer that is in the cage (wildlife storage area) and looked at the multitude of insects some of my fellow grad students have collected for their field season. Their collection jars are about 4x the size of mine, do not contain alcohol, and are just about slap full. Since I have no where near as many insects as they do, I figured it might save everyone time if I just identified my own insects/arthropods. My defense: 1. Two grad students still have 5 boxes of insects to be identified, 2. undergrads are working on insect identification for the two grad students who currently have insects to be identified, 3. another grad student is also collecting insects for his project, 4. I have way less insects than they do (mostly because I did not collect mine with an attractant (like a light source for night flying insects)), 5. I only have to identify them to order or family, and 6. how awesome would it be to say, "Yeah, I identified all of my insects."

Little did I know how difficult it is for an insect lay person, such as myself, to even begin to start identify these little guys! For example, I didn't know the best way to identify spiders to their family is by eye arrangement. I do now! P.S. I do not like spiders one bit and staring at them through a microscope in order to see how their eyes are situated on their head has made for an interesting time to say the least. After the first two days I kept feeling like something was crawling on me. Today was my third day and I'm little over half way done with one of my boxes! Luckily I only have 3 boxes and one of those has hardly any insects in them. Although by the end of the day I'm tired of staring at bugs and inhaling smelly rubbing alcohol (I'm sure it'll be like formaldehyde soon enough where I just don't smell it anymore), I'm starting to see insects in a whole different light (figuratively and literally).

Yes, looking for a spiders eyes through a microscope can be horrifying. Especially when you see their fangs!

But, the coloration on some of them is just amazing, dare I say almost beautiful. It's also amazing how some of them are designed. Just a slight variation in the wings on a fly like insect can mean different species, families, or even orders of insect. 80% of all the animals on Earth are insects! Crazy!



This weekend I was reading the blog of a professor from another university who has his grad students do blog posts from time to time. According to what I read, I will not have as much time to myself as I thought I would. I guess I need to get it in as much as possible while I can. Though it also has me wondering, is my project just too simple? Should I add something to it? Should I be doing more? And I really have no idea.... I guess that's something I'll have to think on.

Here are some pictures I took today while enjoying some of my "outside" break time. Enjoy and blessed be!

summer tanager

brown thrasher in the sun

singing brown thrasher in the sun