Like Bugs?
Like Bugs?
Embedded Files
If the answer is "YES!" then 9 In A Net is for you! 9 In A Net is a simple game that's easy to learn but fun to play! Use equipment that is actually used by scientists to catch 9 unique species of invertebrates. You might not have heard of all these species but you'll get to know them!
Game Play
Game Play
Become an entomologist with your friends and compete to collect one of each of the 9 different invertebrates (animals without internal skeletons) with the highest amount of points. To do this you will use 7 different traps and equipment cards that are based on tools actually used by entomologists! Players take turns using their equipment to catch a variety of invertebrates, and the entomologist who collects the most points without having duplicate invertebrates wins! See the full instructions below for more details!
Where Can I Get 9 In A Net?
Where Can I Get 9 In A Net?
We plan on launching a Kickstarter for a 'print your own version' of 9 In A Net soon. Kickstarter is a fundraising website where people like you can buy a product or donate money to an idea to help the production of the product or idea. The 'print your own version' of 9 In A Net will be a printable PDF that you print off, cut out, and play with. The proceeds of this printable version would go to making a physical version with actual cards. If you or someone you know would love to play 9 In A Net, please consider helping us out by staying updated about when we launch our Kickstarter! You can follow us on Facebook OR fill out the survey below!
Fun Facts
Fun Facts
What's an Entomologist?
What's an Entomologist?
An Entomologist is someone who studies insects. Insects are animals without internal skeletons, six legs, and three body segments. Some entomologists study arachnids, too. Arachnids, better known as spiders and their relatives, are animals with no internal skeletons, eight legs, and two body segments.
Entomologists have very important jobs. Insects alone make up over 85% of all animal species! Insects have a huge impact, both good and bad, on humans:
Health: Mosquitoes, lice, fleas, and other biting insects not only bother us but also transmit a lot of diseases!
Agriculture: Many bees, moths, beetles, and flies are essential in pollination without which we would not have food to eat. Other invertebrates like wasps, spiders, and mantids eat pests that would eat our food.
Waste: Many beetles and flies eat things that other animals can't. These insects can break those substances back down to basic things that other organisms can use. They are essentially recycling and cleaning up the environment.
In order to study this wide range of animals, entomologists usually resort to collecting these invertebrates and then preserving them in a collection to study over and over again.
Horned Treehopper (Leptocentrus sp.)
Horned Treehopper (Leptocentrus sp.)
Horned treehoppers use their unique horns to blend into thorny plants and to make themselves look bigger. They are part of the true bugs (Hemiptera). They have a straw-like mouth they use to suck on plant juices.
Vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus)
Vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus)
While they look a lot like scorpions, vinegaroons are actually more closely related to spiders. They are an extremely old group that has gone unchanged since the Carboniferous Period. They get their common name from their ability to spray acetic acid (the same thing that's in vinegar) into the eyes of potential predators.
Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
Orchid mantids are masters of disguise. Not only do they look like the flowers they perch on, but they will even sway back and forth in the breeze.
Darner Dragonfly (Aeshnidae)
Darner Dragonfly (Aeshnidae)
The darner dragonflies are the largest and most powerful dragonflies. Some species have been clocked at over 40 mph and can travel hundreds of miles in amazing migrations that are similar to that of the monarch butterfly.
Mole cricket (Gryllotalpidae)
Mole cricket (Gryllotalpidae)
Mole crickets not only dig through the ground like mammalian moles but when viewed from the front look very similar because their first pair of legs have converged to a similar look and function as the paws of moles. Despite being relatives of crickets, they are not good jumpers because of their large body size.
Green cicada (Neotibicen superbus)
Green cicada (Neotibicen superbus)
Cicadas are part of an order known as true bugs (Hemiptera). Cicadas produce sounds from a pair of unique organs, called tymbals, which males use to attract females. Many species are considered to be the loudest insects in the world with a few almost reaching the decibels of a chainsaw (110 decibels).
Peacock spider (Maratus sp.)
Peacock spider (Maratus sp.)
Similar to actual peacocks, male peacock spiders will display bright colors and do elaborate dances to impress females. Their fan is just their abdomen that has lots of reflective pigments in the skin and hair. While the females have some color, they are much more drab.
Velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.)
Velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.)
Despite the name, velvet ants are actually wasps. The females are wingless while the males have wings. They are sometimes called cow killer ants due to their extremely painful sting, though no cows (or people) have actually died from the pain.
Traps
Traps
There are lots of different traps because each one works better in some environments and on some invertebrates than others.
Sweep Net: A sweep net is like a net you might get at the store but instead of a netting material, the net part (called a bag) is made from a heavy canvas. Entomologists brush the net through bushes and grass causing invertebrates to fall into the bag.
Beat Sheet: The beat sheet has a similar purpose as the sweep net but instead you hold the heavy canvas under bushes or trees and use the stick to beat on the branches. Invertebrates fall onto the canvas and you can then pick them up with tweezers
Pit Fall Trap: A pit fall trap is just a cup buried in the ground that invertebrates fall into. Later, entomologists collect the cup with all the invertebrates inside. Sometimes entomologists put bait in the cups, like meat or even poop!
Aquatic Light Trap: This trap is a bucket with a light in the back and a funnel in the front. An entomologist can stake it in a pond so the bucket is completely underwater. Then, the invertebrates that are attracted to the light will swim through the funnel and can't get out.
Malaise Trap: A malaise trap is a vertical piece of fabric with one end higher than the other, a bottle is attached at the higher end. When flying insects hit the sheet, they start to crawl to the highest point and fall into the bottle.
Light Sheet: A light sheet is exactly what it sounds like: a sheet that's hung up with lights shining on it. Invertebrates that come out at night (nocturnal) will be attracted to the lights and an entomologist standing next to the sheet can collect them.
V-FIT: V-FIT stands for Vertical-Flight Intercept Trap. It is made by hanging a tarp horizontally and then pulling the middle down into a V shape. At the bottom of the V are pans. Insects fly into the tarp and then follow the slope to the center where they fall into pans and become trapped.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse