In article <[log in to unmask]>, John Martinson
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>I am interested in locating insect traps we could place
>around the collection and exhibit rooms to see what is
>crawling around the place (during the day and evening).
>
>Can anyone recommend a system or has anyone used a quality
>sticky trap for seeing what type of critters that may be
>present?
>

What a thought-provoking idea!

You should put floor-level traps close against a wall, which is likely
to be a  busy route at night. I suppose ordinary sticky fly-paper would
work. It would make an awful mess of the floor unless you stuck it on
thin paper, then taped the paper down all round to make it connect
smoothly with floor level.

Pitfall traps would work well (basically the spider-in-the-bath
principle), a bit of trouble to install but effective.

You would have to design a way of letting a vertical-sided container
into a hole in the floor, such that it could easily be removed for
inspection. Outdoor pitfall traps normally contain alcohol to prevent
spiders from eating insects. The specimens would be easier to examine
and identify, caught this way.

Another idea would be to borrow a proprietary ultraviolet light moth-
trap and set that up in the room overnight. The catch would be far less
than outdoors, of course. Perhaps you could modify it by putting sticky
paper on the baffles next to the lamp.

--
Ian Russell
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:-)nteractive Science Ltd
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/intsci/