catch and release

[Paul Cherubini]

1) Capture and hold: 

Sew your own net (cheap sewing machines at WalMart if
you don't know anyone that has one) out of a soft drapery 
material or cheese cloth.  Hold lep by thorax but be careful not
to hurt the legs
http://www.mindspring.com/~cherubini/curr3.JPG

2) Marking equipment to be used and how:

Sharpie type permanent felt tip marking pen in red, black,
blue and green.  (at Walmart too)

3) Where to mark:

Various cells of the underside of the hind wings.  

4) Coding systems:

Depends on quantities to be marked and frequency of sampling.

With 4 ink colors to choose from and several different
cells in the hind wings to choose from, simple dots in different cells
may meet your needs.

Next step would be to write sequencial numbers on the hind wings - 
probably out of the question with small, fragile species.
For large numbers combine letters with numbers like A1 - A100.

For large butterflies you can have pre-numbered vinyl labels made
that come with a permanent adhesive in any of these colors
http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tags.JPG from Watson label
products in St. Louis, Missouri.

Paul Cherubini
Placerville, Calif.

 
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