COLLECTING
Many animals can be found in any pond or pool, or even in a large puddle. To collect them, you will need some kind of dip-net and a few jars or small bottles. Students of fresh-water biology at the University of Washington use a very convenient water-net of the type shown in Figure 1. You can make one like it out of a broom handle, a hoop of heavy wire, or a 3/16" iron rod, and some silk bolting No. 0. The net should be stretched across the hoop so that it will sag slightly in the middle, and bound to the hoop with heavy bias tape. Ordinary wire can be used to wrap the handle where the hoop is attached.

A wire strainer or sieve can also be used. This has the disadvantage of being short-handled and the wire will sometimes injure the fragile legs or gills of insects; however, it will serve well enough for ordinary purposes.

Do not be deceived if at first you see only a few beetles or water bugs swimming in the open water. Scoop through the plants at the edge with your dip-net. Take some mud from the bottom and wash it carefully through the strainer. Empty the strainer into a pail or jar of water, and you will be surprised to find that you have captured a number of specimens.

The first time you collect, you will find that some of the animals kill the others. You will soon learn which ones to keep in separate containers. Some insect larvae which soon die in a jar of water can be car­ried home in a cardboard box lined with wet paper. Punch a few holes in the box to allow air to enter, but do not allow the larvae to become dry.

You will not find all the animals you wish to study in any one pond or lake. Even if that were possible, it would be desirable to study the life in a variety of water communities, as animals have somewhat different habits in different bodies of water. Perhaps you will be the first human being who has examined and studied the life in a particular pool or stream.