{"id":28070,"date":"2014-05-20T13:13:26","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T17:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/?p=28070"},"modified":"2022-02-15T10:42:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T15:42:24","slug":"get-outside-and-go-bug-collecting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/take-action\/get-outside-and-go-bug-collecting\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Outside and Go Bug Collecting!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Exploring the wild doesn\u2019t need to involve a safari to a far off place. You can discover all kinds of amazing creatures right in your own backyard! Insects are the most diverse group of animal species on the planet; it\u2019s estimated that there are at least over<strong> one million different kinds of insects<\/strong> yet to be discovered by scientists! In some tropical places like the Amazon rainforest a single tree can have up to <strong>10,000 different kinds of insects \u2013 in a single tree!<\/strong> Get to know some of this incredible insect diversity by setting off on a bugtastic adventure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28086\" alt=\"bug biodiversity\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug-grid-small.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug-grid-small.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug-grid-small-300x192.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>Get Ready!<\/h1>\n<p>The first thing you\u2019ll need to go bug collecting is a tool kit. You can buy one or customize your own by finding or making the items. Here\u2019s what\u2019s in our bug kit:<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-28071 alignleft\" style=\"margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 25px;\" alt=\"Caterpillar through Magnifying Glass\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug_magnifying_glass.jpg\" width=\"280\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug_magnifying_glass.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug_magnifying_glass-280x420.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/bug_magnifying_glass-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 280px) 100vw, 280px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong>Net:<\/strong><\/span> For catching flying insects like butterflies you can either buy one or try<a href=\"http:\/\/blog.imaginechildhood.com\/imagine-childhood\/2009\/08\/nets-for-butterflies-and-other-friendly-insects.html\"> making one<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>Notebook:<\/strong><\/span> Grab a paper and pen or pencils to describe and draw pictures of the insects you find.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Camera:<\/span><\/strong> Taking a picture of an insect is a great way to \u2018keep\u2019 a piece of them forever without harming them.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Flashlight:<\/span><\/strong> If you are going out bug collecting at night remember to bring a flashlight.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Container:<\/span><\/strong> Different sized empty and clean plastic containers make great temporary homes for insects &#8230; but remember to put holes in the containers so the little critters can breathe. You can also make the container more insect-friendly by adding some leaves and twigs from around the area where you found the bug.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Magnifying glass:<\/strong><\/span> A magnifying glass will help you spot those tiny bugs while on your bugtastic adventure.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Field guide:<\/strong><\/span> Look online, the library or your local book store for a bug identification guide that will help you figure out who is who. You might try <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bugfacts.net\/\">Bug Facts<\/a>  or <a href=\"http:\/\/kids.sandiegozoo.org\/animals\/insects\">San Diego Zoo<\/a> . Before you head out look up what bugs live in your area and take note of any insects that you shouldn\u2019t touch. Remember to stay away from stinging bugs like bees and wasps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Get Set!<\/h1>\n<p>Pick some locations that would be fun and safe for searching for insects. Think about where you might find species like beetles, butterflies or caterpillars, grasshoppers, dragonflies and ants. Areas that are great insect hangouts include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Under rotting logs or leaves<\/li>\n<li>The underside of a leaf<\/li>\n<li>Among flowers<\/li>\n<li>On trees<\/li>\n<li>In brush beside a river or pond<\/li>\n<li>In the grass<\/li>\n<li>In your own insect habitat, bring the bugs to you by planting a butterfly garden<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Get Buggie!<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-28083\" alt=\"Girl Examining Stick Insects In Jar\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/kid_bug_jar.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/kid_bug_jar.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/kid_bug_jar-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now that you have your bug collecting kit in hand and your local hot spots picked, it\u2019s time to find some insects! Once you have spotted a bug use the magnifying glass, camera and notepad to <strong> watch, track and discover <\/strong>all kinds of interesting things about it. If you are worried the bug will jump, fly or crawl away before you can get a good look, use the net to gently put the bug into your container (remember to put air holes in the container). Watch the bug and take note of how it moves, what colour it is, what does its body look like, does it have wings, how many legs does it have, are they eating, if so, what? <strong>Use your field guide<\/strong> to help you identify the species or write down some fun facts about them, draw a picture or take a snapshot with your camera. <\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve had a few moments to observe your bug, release it back where you found it so the little guy can continue on its way. Bugs may look like they\u2019re just sitting or flying around but they are always doing something important so it is best to not keep it in your container for longer than a few minutes. To keep a memory of them forever <strong>take your drawing or photograph and write on it what you discovered<\/strong> about the insect. You can <strong>hang these bug profiles up in your room<\/strong>, or even make a scrapbook. Check out one of our bug profiles of an insect we found near the Earth Rangers Centre.<\/p>\n<h1>My Bug Profile<\/h1>\n<p>[one_half]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-28090\" alt=\"grasshopper\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/grasshopper-small.jpg\" width=\"285\" height=\"286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/grasshopper-small.jpg 396w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/grasshopper-small-298x300.jpg 298w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/grasshopper-small-55x55.jpg 55w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/grasshopper-small-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 285px) 100vw, 285px\" \/>[\/one_half]<\/p>\n<p>[one_half]<\/p>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><strong>Name:<\/strong> Grasshopper<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nickname:<\/strong> Gerbert the Jumping Greenie<\/p>\n<p><strong>Colour:<\/strong> Green<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where I found it:<\/strong> By the edge of the pond on a big leaf<\/p>\n<p><strong>Description:<\/strong> I only got a quick look at this grasshopper before it hopped away! For his size this bug can jump really high and far.<\/p>\n<p>[\/one_half]<\/p>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h1> Leave a comment to share what bugs you&#8217;ve discovered!<\/h1>\n<div>&nbsp;<\/div>\n<p><em style=\"font-size: 0.83em;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Earth Rangers<\/a> is a non-profit organization that works to inspire and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/bbtw\/resources.html\">educate<\/a> children about the environment. At EarthRangers.com kids can play <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/games\/\">games<\/a>, discover <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/wildwire\/category\/omg-facts\/\">amazing facts<\/a>, meet <a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/animals\/\">animal ambassadors<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bringbackthewild.com\/\">fundraise<\/a> to protect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/bbtw\/about.html\" target=\"_self\">biodiversity<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find tons of tips and tricks on how to discover the wonderful world of bugs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[451,403,1353,931],"tags":[602,112,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-28070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-activities","8":"category-take-action","9":"category-to-edit","10":"category-all","11":"tag-bugs","12":"tag-insect","13":"tag-kids-project"},"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}