Place a crumpled piece of tissue paper in the jar, to give insects a place to 'hide' so they don't beat themselves up trying to escape. Collanders can be used for aquatic collection, to 'scoop' out insects at the water's surface or underwater at the edge of a stream or lake. Sweep nets are used for sweeping the grass of meadows and abandoned fields, as well as catching insects in bushes and up in trees. Because they are made of solid material, sweep nets won't snag like butterfly netting. Tape the ends of the wire to a dowel rod or broomstick with duct tape or electrical tape, or tighten the wire to the broomstick with a hose clamp.
Butterfly nets are best for catching flying insects.
Cut and sew the netting material into a 'cone' shape, then fold the edge over and sew a casing through which to thread the wire loop. Attach to a dowel rod or broomstick as described for the sweep net. Beat sheets are used to collect slow moving and small insects which have been jarred from plants. An inverted umbrella, white pan or sheet of paper is placed under plants. Shake or jar the insects off of plants onto the beat sheet, then grab them with tweezers or shoo them into jars.