Insect monitoring is increasingly important as concern about insect trends in the Anthropocene rises. As new monitoring programs begin, and old ones continue, integrating the many disparate sources of insect trend data into a cohesive framework is a key challenge; otherwise this data collection may not meet its full ecological potential. We provide simple metadata and methodological guidelines for maximizing return for monitoring programs using seven common insect sampling methods -- malaise trapping, light trapping, pan trapping, pitfall trapping, beating sheets, acoustic monitoring, and active visual surveys -- based on model monitoring programs, while touching on the degree of replication and recommended temporal/spatial scales needed for robust estimates of ecological responses. Our goal is to start a conversation about how we can make insect monitoring data even more valuable by collecting all relevant metadata, especially measures of effort, and by using similar methods, allowing for stronger inference about insect trends in a cohesive global framework while encouraging broader audiences to participate in insect monitoring in this era of rapid change.
