No arguments now, insects are the most successful animals on Earth. Scientists currently estimate that there are over 4 million insect species compared to just 4,300 species of mammal. They’ve beaten us hands down, well, if they had hands. The place is crawling with them, but we tend to miss most of them because of their small size and shy nature (phew!). Many live close to the ground or in the soil, while others come out only at night. Below are two different traps you can use to capture a wide variety of insects, which you can then study at your leisure. Remember once you have finished with your specimens they should be returned to the wild. Wild = Your Garden! To help you identify the creatures that you have caught you’ll need to use an insect key. Earthlife have a good one that allows you to work through a set of questions to determine the species order of your creature and then read all about it. 1. Pitfall Trap You can catch many creatures that crawl along the ground with a simple pitfall trap. By placing the trap in different locations, eg. under the shelter of a tree or out in the open, you will be able to find out which habitats particular insects prefer (and therefore how to avoid them in future if necessary!). You can try baiting your trap with fruit, meat or cereals such as oats to attract different species. What to do... 1. Take a flower pot (or a polystyrene cup and use the tip of a pencil to make a couple of small holes in the bottom for water drainage). 2. Dig a hole in the soil big enough to hold the pot/cup so that its rim is level with the ground. 3. Place the pot/cup in the hole and add any bait you want to use. 4. Cover your trap. Place stones on either side of the cup and then put a small piece of wood or a lid of some sort on top of the stones held in place with more stones. This cover leaves a gap for creatures to crawl under, but will stop leaves drifting in or birds using the trap as a handy picnic hamper. 5. Now wait for insects to fall into your trap. You can check it every few hours but you may find it best to leave overnight and inspect the contents in the morning. Can you identify the creatures that you have caught? A magnifying glass may be handy to take a closer look. Not all ground crawling creatures are insects - you will probably find spiders and slugs in your trap as well. 2. Light Sheet Many nocturnal insects including moths and beetles are attracted to bright lights. Just switch on any outside light at night and you’ll soon see a congregation of flying insects clustered near it. An easy way to study them is to use a light sheet as the insects will rest on the sheet rather than continually fly around the light. Professionals use ultraviolet 'blacklights' but even a normal light will attract plenty of insects, especially if you try on a dark moonless night. What to do... 1. Take a large white sheet and hang it up against a wall, between two trees or even on a washing line. You might like to let the bottom bit of the sheet sit on the ground so that any insects that fall off the sheet can also be easily spotted. NB. It is a good idea to ask the person who does the washing in your house before you borrow the sheet! 2. Take a strong light source such as a powerful torch or lantern and place it in front of the sheet. You may be able to run an electric lamp from the house if you have an extension cable. Make sure that the light isn’t touching the sheet and take care not to trip over any trailing cables. 3. As the insects land on the sheet you can inspect them. Try capturing some in a jar so you can take a closer look at them. Go back