The Berlese funnel effectively separates leaf litter and humus from insects and arachnids that favor humid environments. The traditional style of these extraction devices is often heavy (made of metal or thick canvas), bulky (unfoldable), inconvenient (use affected by accessibility to electricity), and time-consuming (when extracting specimens from a thick layer of the sample). These disadvantages become even more of a problem when conducting experiments in difficult terrain and remote areas.
Our pop-up Berlese funnel is designed to let moisture evaporate naturally through the netting in the top compartment. It can rapidly extract soil-dwelling arthropods without requiring a heat source, especially when only a thin layer of leaf litter or humus is placed on the gauze. This makes the pop-up Berlese funnel a very efficient tool for locations without electricity. Because it is lightweight (310 grams) and small when folded (16 cm diameter by 8 cm thick), many can be packed for field trips and expediting experiments. Using a light bulb (NOT included) as a heat source is also possible: clinch the top opening around the lamp socket base or place the heat source to shine into the funnel.
Each pop-up Berlese funnel comprises four parts: top, funnel, tube connector, and collecting tube. The top compartment is made of white Nylon netting (104 x 94 mesh/square inch), allowing light to enter and moisture to evaporate quickly. The bottom funnel is made of smooth black Polyester cloth. The tube connector is PE plastic and connects the funnel to a collecting tube.
Each pop-up Berlese funnel comes with one centrifuge tube (50 ml) as the collection container. When the expected extraction amount is large, other containers (e.g., Whirl-Pak® sampling bag, NOT sold at the BugDorm Store) may be tied onto the connector. The fast-release design of the tube connector permits the cleaning of overlooked specimens from the bottom opening.
Studies Using This Line of Products
Nomura & Aung (2020). Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. A, 46(4), 203-213.
Linzmeier & Konstantinov (2020). Zootaxa, 4786(1), 1-22.
