Total Time Needed: 1 Hour
If the buzz of a beetle sounds like the call of the wild to your kids, here's a great homemade bug catcher for their next backyard safari. It will let them vacuum the bugs they find into a plastic container for clear viewing. Plus, it keeps hands and insects apart, to protect bugs and budding entomologists alike.
Materials
- Craft knife
- A clear disposable drink cup with a lid
- Clear tape
- Small square of gauze
- 2-inch piece of a drinking straw
- A low-temperature glue gun
- 1-foot length of 1/2-inch aquarium tubing
Instructions
- First, use the craft knife (parents only) to make a small straw-size opening in the bottom of the cup.
- Tape the gauze securely over one end of the straw, then poke the straw through the hole.
- Seal the straw in place with the glue gun (again, a parent's job).
- Next, push one end of the tubing an inch or so through the opening in the cup's lid and hot-glue it in place. When the glue has dried, place the lid on the cup.
- To use the bug catcher, just place the free end of the tube over an unsuspecting subject and suck through the straw. The bug will zip into the viewing chamber (the gauze over the straw prevents any old lady style fly swallowing), where your child can examine it for a minute or two before popping off the lid to set it free.
