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TACTICS FOR SUCCESSFUL HUNTING
Did You Know - Insects outnumber
people on earth by 250 million to one!
You can click on any of the
photos to see a larger view.
The difficulty with bird watching or
mammal watching is that you need to remain very still and very quiet,
sometimes for long periods at a time, so as not to scare your subject
away. Studying minibeasts is very different, in fact it's often the
reverse. Your subject remains very still, hoping you won't spot it,
while you hunt it out. The ones which do move, generally don't move very
quickly, so you get to study them in detail before they're gone.
As with any safari, it will help if you take some equipment. Here is a
list of useful items:
 o Some
plastic cups or clean empty jam jars
o A magnifying glass
o A notebook and pencil
o
An umbrella (more about this later)
o A sweep net (more about this later)
o A good reference book like this
one
The biggest challenge with hunting minibeasts is being able to spot
them, as many are very small, and very well camouflaged. To help you
overcome this barrier, here are some techniques you can use to bring the
little creatures out of hiding.
1) TURN OVER A STONE OR LEAF
Simply by turning over a leaf on a tree, or a stone on the ground, or a
log, you will often find minibeasts sheltering underneath. Put the
stones or logs back as you found them afterwards.
1) BEAT A BRANCH
Take an open umbrella, and hold it upside down under a leafy tree
branch. Give the branch of the tree a good whack with a stick. This will
dislodge any creatures lurking there. If you only shake the branch, the creatures will think
its just the wind shaking them, and they will hold onto the branch
tighter, so give it a good hard tap. Check also in the crevices of the
tree bark.
2) PITFALL TRAP
Bury a plastic cup or jam jar in the ground so that the neck is level with the surface
of the soil. Under a hedgerow is a good place. Any creepy-crawlies that
crawl over it will fall in. Place four stones around the edge, and then balance a large flat stone on top of those four
stones. This will keep the inside of the cup or jar dry if it rains. You must
remember where you put your trap, and check to see what's fallen in at
regular intervals. Remove it when you have finished and fill in the
hole.
3) LAMPING
This is a good way to catch night flying moths. Suspend a white cotton
sheet from a tree, and then shine a torch at it. The moths will be
attracted to the light, and will land on the sheet. They can then be
caught in a jam jar for closer inspection.
4) SUGARING
Since moths are attracted to the sweet sugary nectar of flowers, you can
make your own artificial nectar, and paint it onto fence posts to draw
them in. Mix some brown sugar with black treacle, and add a few drops of
rum. The rum makes them a little tipsy, and easier to catch.
5) SWEEP NETTING
A sweep net is like a large fishing net. It has a hoop made of wood or
metal, and a large linen bag attached to it, which collects the
creatures. You simply sweep the net through an area of tall grass to
collect whatever is in there. Only sweep a small area to avoid damaging
the plant life.
Remember
- After you have finished studying your minibeasts - let them go,
preferably in the same place that you found them. Happy hunting!
Take the ultimate minibeast safari from the comfort of your
armchair with the suberb video entitled 'Microcosmos".
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