The Ultimate Guide to Buy Insect Rearing Cages

A one-stop, comprehensive buying and selection guide for entomologists, researchers, vector biologists, and insectaries

A quality research is defined by reproducibility and repeatability. It can only be possible with a standard quality material that are being employed for research. A dependable insect rearing cage should have following characteristics;

1. moderate weight that permits easy moment in the lab

2. should prevent escape of insects from the cage

3. should prevent infestation of the cage by unwanted insects from outside environment (for this mesh grid size or grid's aparture plays important role)

4. should allow to record scientific observations (easy to see through facility in the cage design will help meeting this requirement like providing front side is the cage with see through material like polyethylene in our cages)

5. shouldn’t have any spaces inside the cage or corners that can helps insects hide thereby influences the recorded observation

6. should be long lasting and durable

Introduction: Why Insect Cages Matter More Than You Think

Insect rearing cages are not just containers—they are controlled micro-ecosystems. The right cage determines survival rates, mating success, feeding efficiency, experimental reproducibility, and biosecurity. A poor cage choice can introduce confounding variables such as escape, contamination, stress, injury, or altered behavior, directly compromising research outcomes.

This guide is written to help entomologists, insectary managers, agricultural scientists, public health professionals, and PhD students confidently choose the right insect cage—once and correctly.

You can use this weblink to narrow down the type of insect cage that you are looking for. The guide is based on a drop down menu which has several options. Lets you navigate through selection after choice and finally recommend a few products with various sizes of the cages. You can narrow down your requirements easily using this selection guide;

https://www.labitems.co.in/custom-selection-of-insect-rearing-cage

1. Fundamental Purpose of an Insect Rearing Cage

An insect cage must simultaneously:

• Confine insects safely

• Allow airflow and gas exchange

• Prevent escape and cross-contamination

• Permit feeding, cleaning, and handling

• Maintain visibility for observation

• Withstand repeated use, cleaning, and transport

Different insects, life stages, and experimental objectives demand different cage architectures.

Other uses - scientific objective based

• Large cages for mass rearing

• Cages for field studies

• Cages for plant - insect interaction studies

• Cages for insect - insect interactions

• Field cages for pollination studies

• Field cages for walkable temporatory research stations

2. Understanding Mesh: The Single Most Critical Parameter

2.1 Mesh Size (Microns)

Mesh size directly determines what stays in and what stays out.

Mesh Category	Approx. Opening	Suitable For
Eco Mesh	~600 µm	Mosquitoes, fruit flies, moths
Fine Mesh	~150 µm	Whiteflies, thrips, parasitoids, mites
Ultra-fine	<100 µm	Quarantine or contamination-sensitive work

Rule of thumb:

The smallest insect life stage (including eggs or parasitoids) must be larger than the mesh opening.

2.2 Mesh Material

• Nylon mesh: Lightweight, flexible, economical

• Eco mesh: Optimized nylon with good airflow. The opening aperture is about 600 microns

• Fine nylon mesh: For tiny insects. The opening aperture is about 150 microns

• Aluminum mesh: Rigid, long-lasting, easy to disinfect

• Stainless steel mesh: High-durability, chemical-resistant. Mostly suitable for long term regular use of insects in moist or high humid or field harsh environments

3. Mesh Color: White vs Black – It’s Not Aesthetic – the color of the mesh helps in highlighting the insects. Light colored ones will be seen clearly under white background and dark colored ones under bright mesh.

White Mesh

• Better visibility of dark insects

• Reflects light → reduced heat buildup

• Ideal for mosquito colonies and routine general rearing of common insects

• Since white reflects light it slightly blinds the eyes of the observers which in turn reduces focused observations on insects

Black Mesh

• Reduces reflection and glare

• Improves visibility of pale and light colored insects

• Often preferred for behavioral observations.

• Light penetrates the black color hence no reflection of light. This helps viewing insects and record observations.

4. Cage Structure & Frame Types

4.1 Flexible (Pole-Based) Frames – can be dismantled and re-assembled quickly

• Lightweight aluminum or fiberglass poles

• Easy assembly and transport

• Ideal for:

  • Temporary setups

  • Field collections

  • Teaching labs

4.2 Rigid Aluminum Profile Frames

• Industrial-grade structure

• Perfect geometry- provides higher inside volume for rearing insects

• Long service life -due to studier structure

• Ideal for:

  • Permanent insectaries

  • Regulated labs

  • High-value colonies

5. Cage Panels: All Mesh vs Mesh + Clear Panel

All-Mesh (M)

• Maximum airflow and no issues of static electricity - means that insects don’t have difficulty in moving around different surfaces of the side panels

• Lightweight – easy to carry around

• Best for:

  • Mosquito rearing

  • High humidity environments

  • And for general insect rearing where insects might find it hard to walk on the plastic surfaces

Mesh + Clear Panel (MC)

• Transparent PET/acrylic panel on one side

• Benefits:

  • Observation without disturbance- don’t have to apply external light or intrude into the cage to do observations

  • Reduced airflow loss - one panel prevents air movement. Hence increased retention of the humidity

  • Improved humidity retention

• Best for:

  • Behavioral studies

  • Photography - clear panel allows easy viewing and recording the observations

  • Long-term cultures

6. Cage Size: Volume Matters More Than You Realize. It is observed that there is a minimum threshold of insect density is required to maintain healthy fecundity and egg laying and hatch rate there by a successful cyclic colonies can be established

Why Size Affects Biology

• Overcrowding → stress, mortality, altered mating

• Under-utilized volume → inefficient space usage

• Minimum number of insects -> it is easy for insects to produce healthy off springs when both males and females are available abundantly with optimum space. Each insect might require certain amount of space beyond or below which is suboptimal for the maintenance of the healthy cyclic colonies

Common size logic:

• 15–25 cm: Parasitoids, small colonies

• 30–40 cm: Standard mosquito cages

• 50–60 cm: High-density or long-term colonies

• Tall and rectangular cages (90–120 cm): Flight behavior, mating success

• And other sizes – visit www.insectrearingcage.com to find out more variants

The full spectrum of standardized cage sizes and series combinations is documented in the table – click here to access

7. Sleeves & Access Ports: Ergonomics Meets Biosecurity-prevent unwanted escapes-helps multiple people can work on a single cage

Single vs Double Sleeves

• Single sleeve: Basic handling - for example to access interiors of the cage to capture insects or to do any manipulations as intended

• Double sleeve:

  • Two users can work simultaneously. Reduce need to maintain multiple cages for cyclic colonies when experiments are conducted routinely and large quantities of same insects are needed

  • One feeding, one aspirating–saves time on regular maintenance of the insect colonies

  • Reduced escape risk–since working in a single cage eliminates probabilities of opening multiple cages for regular maintenance.

  • Cost saving – double sleeve cages are usually large cages which helps in reducing cost of maintenance -time and regular consumable resources like feed and plasticware

Sleeve material should be:

• Elastic-sealed or foldable so that insects won’t find chance to escape while doing routine maintenance work 

8. Choosing the Right Cage by Application -few examples

8.1 Mosquito Rearing & Vector Biology

• Eco mesh or fine mesh (species-dependent)

For example it is observed that Aedes can escape normal mesh that is used for rearing mosquitoes. Suggested mesh size for culturing aedes is smaller than the regular mesh that is used for rearing other mosquitoes. The baby adult aedes very agile and tiny in size which can maneuver to escape the cages

• White mesh preferred

Since mosquitoes are usually dark complexion, a white colored mesh cages are suitable

• Large volume (40–60 cm)

Few mosquito species, especially Anophelies prefer to live in large masses. The fecundity and egg hatch rate is reduced when small cages are used. Swarming is important for mating in these species and hence having large cages is important to establish a successful anopheles colony.

• Double sleeves recommended

8.2 Agricultural Pest Rearing

• Fine mesh mandatory (<150 µm)

• Clear panel for observation

• Moderate humidity control

8.3 Parasitoid & Beneficial Insects

• Ultra-fine mesh

• Smaller cages

• Black mesh may enhance visibility

8.4 Field Collection & Transport

• Lightweight foldable cages

• Quick assembly

• Zipper or Velcro access

8.5 Drosophila rearing

Problem with small cages or high density:Overcrowding leads to stress, competition, and rapid waste buildup.

Why size matters:Limited space increases:

• Larval competition for food

• Adult aggression

• Elevated CO₂ and humidity

Observed outcome:

• Smaller adult body size

• Reduced fertility

• Shortened lifespan

Solution:Larger containers or lower density per unit volume ensure stable cultures of Drosophila

8.6 Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) – Wing Expansion Failure

Problem with small cages:Newly emerged adults cannot fully expand their wings.

Why size matters:After emergence, butterflies and moths must hang freely to pump hemolymph into wings.

Observed outcome:

• Crumpled or deformed wings

• Non-flying adults

• Unusable specimens for experiments

Solution:Tall cages with unobstructed vertical space and mesh walls for gripping.

8.7 Tsetse Flies – Extremely Sensitive to Cage Size & Density

Problem with small cages:Tsetse flies experience high stress and mortality when crowded.

Why size matters:These flies are:

• Large-bodied

• Slow-reproducing

• Highly sensitive to disturbance

Observed outcome:

• Aborted larvae

• Reduced lifespan

• Colony collapse

Solution:Low-density housing in large, well-ventilated cages is essential.

8.8 Parasitoid Wasps – Host Finding Fails in Small Cages

Problem with small cages:

Wasps cannot perform normal host-searching behavior.

Why size matters:Parasitoids rely on:

• Flight

• Odor gradients

• Visual cues

Observed outcome:

• Low parasitism rates

• Artificial behavior

• Misleading experimental results

Solution:Medium to large cages that allow realistic host-location behavior.

8.9 Grasshoppers & Locusts – Density-Dependent Stress

Problem with small cages:Physical crowding causes abnormal molting and injuries.

Why size matters:These insects require:

• Jumping space

• Separation during molting

Observed outcome:

• Limb damage

• Cannibalism

• Molting failures

Solution:Large cages with vertical and horizontal clearance. Use Metal cages preferably as they may damage regular cages very quickly. Metal mesh cages can withstand the strength and densities of these insects

Insect cage size is not just about comfort—it directly affects behavior, reproduction, morphology, and survival.

Small cages or excessive densities can silently destroy experimental outcomes even when food and temperature are “perfect.”

9. Hygiene, Cleaning & Longevity

Nylon / Eco Mesh

• Wash with mild detergent like lab detergent that are used for glassware. Don’t use harsh soaps and surf. If you don’t have a suitable lab detergent then use SDS 2% or normal hair shampoo

• Air dry - don’t squeeze the cage to take out water. Just hang to a wire to drain out the excess water

• Avoid high heat - which might shorten the life span or durability of the cages

Aluminum / Stainless Steel Mesh

• Alcohol or bleach compatible

• Autoclave-safe (model-dependent) - don’t autoclave nylon mesh cages

• Ideal for quarantine labs

Two ways of cleaning the cages- dismantle the highly soiled cages that are heavily loaded with fungal spores and other sugary contaminants. These get accumulated over a period of time. Drench in a mild soap solution and take out the cages. Few of the times, highly sticky materials need hand rub to take out spongy substances stuck to the cages. Use a mild soft brush to remove them. Harsh or hard using the brush might tear the cages.

Alternatively, standing cages can be cleaned by wiping out the dirt using soft cloth. You can buy one here. 

10. Compliance, Standardization & Repeatability

Modern entomological research increasingly demands:

• Reproducible cage environments

• Standardized dimensions

• Material traceability

Using defined cage series and model codes ensures experiments can be replicated across labs and countries.

11. Common Buying Mistakes (Avoid These!)

❌ Choosing mesh by price, not insect size❌ Underestimating cage volume❌ Ignoring sleeve ergonomics❌ Mixing cage types within one experiment❌ Overlooking future scalability

12. How to Read Cage Model Codes (Quick Primer)

Model codes typically encode:

• Mesh type (Eco / Fine)

• Mesh color (White / Black)

• Panel configuration (M / MC)

• Dimensions (L × W × H in cm)

Understanding this logic prevents ordering errors and mismatches.

13. Final Checklist Guide to buy insect cages

✔ Insect species & life stage identified

✔ Mesh size confirmed (microns)

✔ Cage volume adequate

✔ Frame type chosen

✔ Panel type selected

✔ Sleeve configuration optimized

✔ Cleaning protocol compatible