The Fruits and Bugs of Summer

One great thing about the end of summer is the sheer amount of bugs.  I don't like getting bit by mosquitos anymore than anyone else, but this is the best time of year for finding exoskeletons and other specimens.  Our favorite find this year was the body of a Luna Moth, mostly intact and still beautiful.  Luna moths are an endangered species so that made this an especially interesting find for my daughter and led to great conversations about how endangered animals and plants can be right in our backyard.  Luna Moths are also interesting because they only live for a week as adults and so do not have mouths or any other way to eat. 

We also found an exoskeleton that was so perfect, the eye coverings were still intact.  It looked like the insect had just unzippered it's coat in the back and stepped out.  Of course, the problem with all these treasures is that they end up in the house.  I am pretty relaxed about what finds its way into our humble abode but even I do not look forward to finding dead bugs on the counters!  Glass or expensive specimen trays for a first grader are just not appropriate.  So, we have come up with a fair solution for our closet sized nature museum.  The clear plastic containers that fruit is sold in at the grocery store make excellent, safe homes for insect specimens.  I'm sure the containers on salad bars would work as well but I do prefer the shallower containers when I can find them.  Here's how we put it together:

1.  Put some poly-fil stuffing of foam in the container to fill extra space.
2.  Wrap a soft fabric such as flannel or felt over the stuffing to keep the specimen from sliding around.  Solid colors work best for visibility.  We actually use a cut-up, old baby blanket for this.
3.  Place insect on top of fabric and close lid, make sure the specimen is held gently in place by the lid.  No pins are necessary.  The fruit containers are particulary good at staying closed but if you feel you won't need to reopen your container often you can put a little clear tape on the sides.

Voila!  Instant, stackable storage for all your critter finds.  You can also view the specimens with a magnifier right through the sides of the container, this will increase how long the specimens last!  I will post some pictures of our little summer "harvest" asap.