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The identification of indigenous insects and potential agents associated with a weed requires careful preparation of specimens for identification by specialist taxonomists.
Specimens mounted by pinning and drying
Kill the specimen using ethyl acetate, cyanide, deep freeze, or saturated oxalic acid injection, maintain humidity for a maximum period of 24 hours until pinned or glued on card, then air dry.
Adults of:
 | Lepidoptera (moths); |
| Coleoptera (beetles); |
| Diptera (flies); |
| Hemiptera (bugs); |
| Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets); |
| Mantodea
(mantids and mantispids); and |
| Blattodea (cockroaches). |
All mounted specimens should be stored with powdered naphthalene.
Specimens collected directly into alcohol (75%)
Adults of:
| Arachnida (spiders); |
| Dermaptera (earwigs); |
| Thysanoptera (thrips); and |
| Strepsiptera. |
Immature stages of:
| Hemiptera (bugs, leafhoppers, scale insects, etc.); |
| Phasmatodea (stick insects); |
| Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers); and |
| Blattodea (cockroaches). |
All stages of:
| Siphonaptera (fleas). |
Specimens collected into fixative then preserved in alcohol (75%)
Specimens should be placed in a fixative such as KAA or Carnoys fluid for 1 hour before being transferred to alcohol.
Immature stages of:
| Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies); |
| Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants); |
| small Diptera (flies); and |
| Neuroptera (lacewings). |
Drop into hot water (90-95oC) for 2 minutes, then preserve in alcohol (75%)
Larvae of:
| large Diptera (flies). |
Slide mounts
After using a fixative, slide mount:
| Insect genitalia and wings for venation studies for all groups; |
| Adults of;
 | Thysanoptera (thrips), |
| Strepsiptera, |
| and some Hymenoptera (small wasps). |
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After maceration, slide mount:
| Coccidae (scale insects,
mealybugs). |
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