Monitoring infection rates of Culicoides variipennis (Coquillett) with bluetongue virus in rangeland deer and cattle often requires prolonged field excursions. Methodology that fits field processing and storage was evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions. Triethylamine was used to anesthetize Culicoides for sorting. A portable liquid nitrogen vapor shipping container offered a convenient means of insect storage at temperatures that ensured preservation of the virus and eliminated fungal and bacterial contamination of cell cultures. Triethylamine and liquid nitrogen storage had little effect on recovery of bluetongue virus from experimentally infected C. variipennis and sheep blood stored under similar conditions.