Killing jar

For other uses, see The Killing Jar (disambiguation).
A wasp placed in a killing jar atop crumpled legal pad paper

A killing jar or killing bottle is a device used by entomologists to kill captured insects quickly and with minimum damage.[1] The jar typically contains plaster of Paris on the bottom to absorb a killing fluid. The killing fluid evaporates into the air and gasses the insect. Typically only adult hard bodied insects are killed in a killing jar; other insects require different methods of killing.

  1. ^ Smithers, C. N. 1988. The Handbook of Insect Collecting. ISBN 0-589-50288-3