Details for Creating Insect Image

We have found that creating insect pictures with a computer scanner is easy, and it produces good quality images for insect classification.

Ideally, you should submit multiple views of the insect. Several specimens in the same picture, each with a different orientation (top, side and ventral), are best. If you have only a single specimen, submit several images, each showing a different position. If available, include different life stages (nymphs and larva as well as adults) and representatives of any variation among your specimens.

First, you need to immobilize or kill the insect without smashing it. We place insects in a small jar and then place the jar in a freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Frozen insects retain their form and color until you are ready to scan them.

Rare, unusual, beneficial, and beautiful insects should not be killed, but immobilized and then released after their photograph is taken. We have had success placing butterflies in the freezer for approximately 5 minutes, long enough to immobilize them but not kill them. With the computer scanner or camera set and ready for use, we remove the butterfly from the freezer, take the picture and release the buttterfly once it has recovered.

Place the insect(s) on the surface of your scanner. Cover the surface and insect with a uniformly-colored box or sheet of paper. Do not cover the insect with the scanner's lid as it may crush it. The box will reflect light and should provide a uniformly-colored surface that contrasts with the insect. The box should be about 2 inches (5 centimeters) tall. A white box or sheet of paper is preferable for most insects but for yellow, white or other light colored insects a light blue offers better contrast.

Try to adjust your scanner's settings to create faithful colors. The background surface provided by a white box or sheet should appear white (without saturation) or a light gray. Try to avoid having the white background appear rosy, bluish or greenish in color.

Don't scan the entire surface if you have only a few insects. You may want to keep the image file small for sending over the Internet (follow your scanner's instructions on how to select the area to scan). The insect or insects should take up a third to a half of the image you create.

For insects that are 3 millimeters (1/4 inch) or more in length 200 to 400 DPI (dots per inch) should provide sufficient magnification for identification. An insect should take up at least 100 pixels of the image area. Smaller insects will need a resolution of 400 to 800 DPI.

The InsectProfessor suggests that you save the scanned image in the bitmap or .bmp file format to avoid image compression.

If you use a camera rather than a scanner, please include a ruler in the photo to enable the InsectProfessor to calculate the size of the insect.