{"id":1680,"date":"2010-10-21T13:02:44","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T17:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:16:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:16:32","slug":"submitting-insect-specimens","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/submitting-insect-specimens\/","title":{"rendered":"Submitting Insect and Arthropod Specimens (no charge for this service)"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>We may be able to identify your insect(s), spider(s), etc. from one or more quality photos: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/umaine-extension.formtitan.com\/ftproject\/idl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Photo Submission Form<\/a> <\/strong>(no cost)<\/li>\n<li>We also accept insect (and spider) specimens by mail or drop-off to the address below.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Important Note:<\/strong> Please do not send us floor sweepings, vacuum cleaner contents or specimens from the body (although ticks, suspected nits and lice will be accepted). Due to potential health risks to our diagnosticians, we <strong>cannot<\/strong> accept bodily fluids or other human debris. We are happy to work with a physician to identify any arthropod pest, but submissions of that nature <strong>must<\/strong> come directly from a physician.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Please print and fill out the following form to include with any physical sample(s).\u00a0 If you are without a working printer, we ask that you write down the information for us on a sheet of paper to accompany the sample(s) &#8212; <em>Thank You!<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/04\/Insect-Submission-Form-April2025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Specimen Submission Form [PDF]<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2025\/04\/Insect-Submission-Form-April2025.docx\">Specimen Submission Form [Word version]<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<table style=\"height: 100px\" width=\"686\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>UMaine Extension DRL<br \/>\nInsect ID Lab<br \/>\n17 Godfrey Drive<br \/>\nOrono, ME 04473-3692<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: left\">Phone: 1.800.287.0279 (within Maine)<br \/>\nEmail: <a href=\"mailto:extension.insectID@maine.edu\">extension.insectID@maine.edu<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>How to properly submit a specimen for identification:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>All insects (excluding butterflies and moths) can be placed in a small leak-proof container with just enough rubbing alcohol to cover the specimen for preservation. A plastic pill bottle inside a re-sealable sandwich bag&#8211;in case it leaks a little&#8211;works well; <em>they often leak at least a small amount!<\/em>\u00a0 If you are dropping off a sample, then it&#8217;s totally fine&#8211;<em>and even preferred<\/em>&#8211;if the specimen is still alive, as long as there&#8217;s no danger of it escaping\u00a0<em>(bringing in \u2018live\u2019 bed bugs, for example, or bugs suspected of being bed bugs, is probably not a good idea, even if the container is escape-proof! Keep such specimens in a freezer for at least 24 hours prior to bringing them in, if placing them in alcohol isn\u2019t a favorable or feasible option).<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Butterflies and moths should be packed in tissue or cotton for best possible preservation. Alcohol will sometimes alter or destroy certain patterning on a specimen, such as the scales on a moth, so it&#8217;s better to keep those types of specimens dry.<\/li>\n<li>You can mail or drop off specimens at your local County Extension Office or at the Pest Management Unit&#8217;s Insect ID Lab.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Important Note:<\/strong> Please do not submit floor sweepings, vacuum cleaner contents or specimens from the body (although ticks, suspected nits and lice will be accepted). Due to potential health risks to our diagnosticians, we CANNOT accept bodily fluids or other human debris. We are happy to work with a physician to identify any arthropod pest, but submissions of that nature MUST come directly from a physician.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Please Provide:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your Name: ___________________________________<\/p>\n<p>Phone Number (optional): ______________________________<\/p>\n<p>Mailing Address: (Street \/ PO Box) _____________________________ (City\/Town\/Territory) _____________________ (State + Zip Code)\u00a0 _____\u00a0\u00a0 __________<\/p>\n<p><strong>Email Address for sending your report:<\/strong> _____________________________________________________________________________ <em>(We prefer sending our lab report via email so that we can include photos of your specimen(s) and\/or links to additional online resources that often prove to be incredibly helpful to our clients. Please indicate if you would prefer to be notified in some manner other than an email report, or in addition to an email report.) <\/em><strong>Please \u2018cc\u2019 identification report to:<\/strong><em><strong> ___________________________________________________\u00a0 <\/strong>(there is also a line for this option at the bottom in case you miss it here)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Collection Date (an approximate date is sufficient): ________________\u00a0\u00a0 Submission Date: __________________<br \/>\nCollection Location: ______________ (town or township\/territory, if known)<br \/>\nCollection Location: ______________ (state or country, etc.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Please provide the following information about your insect specimen:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Where was the insect found? Indoors?<\/strong> (garage\/shed, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc.) <strong>or outdoors?<\/strong> (yard, flower garden, vegetable garden, tree\/forest, lake\/pond, etc.) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>What was the insect on or in? <\/strong>(if not already answered above) (for example: found on an animal, tomato, wall, floor, etc.) _____________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>Approximately how many insects were found?<\/strong> ____________<\/p>\n<p><strong>Describe damage, if any?<\/strong> _____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong>Additional Comments:<\/strong> _______________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Depending on the situation&#8211;and if warranted&#8211;do you have control preferences? (e.g. organic-only, organic if possible, least toxic, etc.) ___________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Do you have children or pets in the home? <em>(feel free to skip this question if you like as it may not be relevant to your case)<\/em>\u00a0 _______________<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Submitted By County Educator? ______________________________ County: ________________________________________<br \/>\n<strong>Please \u2018cc\u2019 identification report to: ___________________________________________________\u00a0 <\/strong>(email)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/home-and-garden-ipm\/critter-id\/\"><em><strong>Back to Critter ID<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We may be able to identify your insect(s), spider(s), etc. from one or more quality photos: Photo Submission Form (no cost) We also accept insect (and spider) specimens by mail or drop-off to the address below. Important Note: Please do not send us floor sweepings, vacuum cleaner contents or specimens from the body (although ticks, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1680","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Submitting Insect and Arthropod Specimens (no charge for this service) - Cooperative Extension: Insect Pests, Ticks and Plant Diseases - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/submitting-insect-specimens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Submitting Insect and Arthropod Specimens (no charge for this service) - Cooperative Extension: Insect Pests, Ticks and Plant Diseases - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We may be able to identify your insect(s), spider(s), etc. from one or more quality photos: Photo Submission Form (no cost) We also accept insect (and spider) specimens by mail or drop-off to the address below. 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