The Big Island Insect Count is an educational insect collecting activity which happens usually every year on a Saturday in September in the area around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The first event was held in 2004. The count has a dual purpose:
- To make the public more aware and appreciative of the ecological importance of insects and
- To improve the inventory of native and introduced species in the vicinity of the Park.
Each event features a collecting hike and frequently includes slide shows of native insects as well as demonstrations of living and preserved specimens. About half of the participants are school-age children, and HES entomologists from the Big Island and Oahu serve as guides, helping participants find and identify the insects they are photographing and collecting.