NC State University Insect Museum

Beautiful limacodid adult, captured by John Davis.

Well, it might be too late for this year's class, but we desperately need adult Limacodidae (Lepidoptera) for the teaching collection – we have only one un-spread, atypical specimen. I've pulled these small to medium sized moths from sheets bathed in the bluish tinge of Hg-vapor and from incandescent lights against my house. They often adopt relatively bizarre postures that involve headstands, curved abdomens, and one position that can only be described as a frozen "push-up." Look for colors that span from white to brown and often have striking patterns involving green or silver blotches on the wings.

The larvae are usually covered in formidable, poisonous spines and have incredible ways to locomote – usually involving silk. Why do we have so few in our collection?!

Wonderful yet menacing larval limacodid, photographed by Stephen Miller.

Stunning image of a spongiphorid earwig, Timomenus komarowi, captured by Angela and Andrew.

We badly need earwig (Dermaptera) specimens for the teaching collection that are not Forficulidae. This post, however, serves not only as an announcement of this deficiency, but also also as a celebration of the often maligned and frequently misunderstood taxon that is Dermaptera.

You've undoubtedly heard the meme: earwigs seek entrance into ears of poor, unsuspecting sleepers, where they persist and, depending on the version you witness, burrow into the person's brain. This is – and I say this unequivocally and without hesitation – complete and utter nonsense. Earwigs are harmless (aside from the slight pinch they occasionally deliver with their “forceps,” which are modified cerci), with only one recorded (and definitely accidental) entrance into someone's ear. The poor critter was probably just looking for a secluded spot to bed down. It certainly wasn't there to “bore into” the child's brain. There are almost no other cases of terrestrial arthropods entering a person's ear and remaining there – except one instance involving a couple spiders and, of course, mites in dogs and cats (but not humans!)

Aside from occasionally eating your roses and making nasty smells when handled, Dermaptera are among the most charismatic and likable of all insects. Earwigs exhibit subsocial (maternal) behavior, incredible wing folding mechanisms and behavior, parasitism, aggregation, and other attributes worthy of further exploration (e.g., they serve as models for studies of sexual selection).

One can find specimens under rocks and stones and in leaf litter, where they forage for various sources of organic matter (e.g. leaves, petals, dead insects). These specimens should be pinned. We are especially interested in Labiidae (or, as some experts prefer, Spongiphoridae).

Look familiar? These two earwigs are hiding out in a rose flower. Image by George Collins.

Great stonefly image captured by Kim Fleming.

As I prepare for the next round of Insect Systematics (ENT 502 starts next week!) it's time to get in some last minute requests. Our teaching collection's assemblage of adult stoneflies (Plecoptera) could use some help. The specimens are in pretty good shape, but it would be nice to get a larger variety of species and to fill in those few families we're missing. The taxa we focus on in the class are:

• Nemouridae (we have none; tough to get this time of year)
• Capniidae (we have one vial; might have to wait until it's cold!)
• Perlidae (we have 4 vials)
• Perlodidae (we have 4 vials)
• Chloroperlidae (we have none)

Make sure you don't pin these insects! We need them in alcohol. As you would expect for critters that spend most of their lives in the water, we usually collect stonefly adults by sweeping or employing light traps in or near aquatic habitats.

Hawthorn sawfly, Trichiosoma sp. (Hymenoptera: Cimbicidae), captured by Nigel Jones.

Here's another taxon to work on for our teaching collection (and for our research collection; we have only one specimen!), though maybe it's too late in the season to collect adults. We have only two specimens of the family Cimbicidae (Hymenoptera), also known as elm or hawthorn sawflies. Two specimens might be enough for students to learn the diagnostic characters of this family, except that our specimens are both missing their antennae – which, of course, are one of the easiest diagnostic characters. Just look at those beautifully knobbed antennae! These critters also have spine-like structures on their hind legs that can inflict pain when one grabs a live one.

I've collected them using yellow pan traps, and I know my colleagues get them by sweeping blooming trees (elms, cherry, and even willow) in the spring. Cimbicids are our largest sawflies (up to 2.5 cm long), so they should be difficult to miss.

Another beautiful cimbicid, photographed by Jean-Sébastien Bouchard.

Image of Ectoedemia festivitatis, a nepticulid moth described by Erik J.
van Nieukerken (Zoologische Mededelingen, 82-1; January 2008)

Micromoths (Lepidoptera), as a whole, are probably one the most poorly represented groups in our teaching collection, and I am sure that has something to do with the difficulty of their preparation. The specimens are almost always teeny-tiny and need to be double mounted immediately after they are collected – before they desiccate. Inserting the minuten pin through the right spot on the thorax and spreading their wee wings requires a level patience and experience few students have at this stage in their careers.

These insects are incredibly important to learn, though, given that numerous pest species and ecological models are classified amongst the microlepidopteran families. One family we need desperately is Nepticulidae; we have one specimen with a missing abdomen. These monotrysian leafmining moths can be as small as 3 mm (in wingspan), ranking as the tiniest insects in the order. Adults are relatively easy to recognize by their conspicuous eye caps (look at the bases of their antennae) and their narrow, lanceolate wigs with relatively simple venation. You might be able to rear some from leaf mines (this U.K. leaf mine site has some great info that might be relevant), and I have certainly collected them at UV lights.

Stigmella prunetorum mine, photographed by
Gyorgy Csoka.

Great shot of a reticulated beetle (Cupedidae) by Jenn Forman Orth.

Reticulated beetles (Coleoptera: Cupedidae) are also needed for the teaching collection, as we have only a single specimen that's undamaged. Cupedids are somewhat ancestral beetles that stand as the most common North American representatives of the suborder Archostemata. One can find them at lights occasionally, and I have collected them off of tree trunks. The larvae feed inside rotting logs.

One can readily recognize their reticulate elytra (fore wings), filiform antennae that are often held straight when at rest, and their large eyes and distinctive head shape. BugGuide's another place to find more images.