If you're finding a shortage of items to collect or if your child is afraid of bugs, why not color some bugs and make a bug collection that way. You can also go through magazines and cut and paste pictures of things into a "collection book." Check with your local library about getting old copies of magazines like National Geographic. My library sells the old copies for 10 cents a piece, and they are full of colorful pictures of plants, insects and animals you don't often get a chance to see.
And while you may want to collect bugs, that doesn't mean that you want mosquitos and other bugs around you biting, buzzing or stinging. Before you venture off to explore, give one of these natural mosquito repellants a try. If the bugs do end up biting, here are some bug bite treatments you can use.
Other things to try collecting with your child: