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Submitting a Specimen for Identification

The identification of an insect or related pest is the first step in determining whether it should be controlled and in obtaining recommended control measures. BugDoctor's Entomologist provides identification assistance when it is needed. A good specimen and supporting information are essential for pests to be correctly identified.

Preserving and Packaging

In general, most insects should be preserved immediately after collection. Several specimens should be included if possible. Most specimens can be killed and preserved in glass or plastic jars containing mouthwash that contains alcohol. Do not send insects in water.

Large, fragile insects such as butterflies and moths should be killed in a freezer and stored in a crush proof container without alcohol. Tissue paper gently placed around the specimens will keep them from being damaged in the mail.

The following information should be included for each sample submitted:

  1. Name of collector.
  2. State, county and nearest town to collection site.
  3. Date collected.
  4. Where found, such as host plant, animal, or location in a building. If the specimen was found on a person, please provide the person's name and phone number.
  5. Degree of infestation (heavy, medium, light) and type of damage.

Electronic Images

It is becoming more common for individuals with digital cameras to send images of specimens by email. This can greatly speed the process of determining the type of specimen and the appropriate control measures if needed. However, identification of insects and related arthropods from electronic images can be challenging.

Being three-dimensional, many important characters used to identify insects can be out of focus in an image with limited depth of field. For example, the number of parts on the antennae, placement of hairs and spines on the body, shape of the mouthparts and the number and shape of veins in the wings may all be needed to key an insect to species.

In short, it may not be possible to capture all the necessary key characters to fully identify a pest. Fortunately in some situations, the species of a pest may not be necessary to make an appropriate control recommendation.

Before imaging an insect or related arthropod for identification, you should determine the level of identification you feel you need. For example, when concerned about a specific species such as a brown recluse spider or Formosan termite, it may be more efficient to mail the sample by the traditional process so detailed identification can be made. In addition, you will probably need to mail small arthropods such as mites, larval ticks and minute flies. For more general identifications, large specimens or identifications with pressing time constraints such as structural pests delaying a home sale, digital images may work well.

The following guidelines are designed to help you make decisions about imaging insects, related arthropods and the damage they cause.

  1. Whenever possible, lay a simple ruler or a common item such as a penny next to the specimen so the relative size of the insect can be determined.
  2. When possible, take an image of damage or nests. Photograph damage where it interfaces with "normal" plant tissue, lumber, food products, etc.
  3. Use a contrasting background color to the specimen. If in doubt, default to a light gray background.
  4. Use an intensity of light that best depicts the accurate color of the specimen.
  5. When many pests are present, take an image of several specimens in one frame.
  6. Attempt to select the best preserved specimen to provide a close-up image of the entire top, bottom and head. When imaging the head, try to get the base of the antennae, eyes and mouth in focus. For specimens flattened side-to-side, such as fleas, a side view will be needed.

All samples should be sent to the address listed on our contact page. Please allow approximately one week for specimen identification.

Please don't forget to enclose your own contact information! We do get samples that have no contact information. For those samples, we photograph (if we can) and hold for future information.