Until technology makes it practical to "lo-jack" our specimens (... gasp ... a nano-chip on an insect pin???), paper labels are still the most reliable and economical standard for attaching collecting data to pinned specimens.
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| Shoddy data: mad scientist or just bad science? |
While recently curating several hundred southwestern Acmaeoderini (see Dec 05 post below), I unfortunately was reminded of some of the, shall I say,
laughable labeling efforts I have bore witness to or received in exchanges: ambiguous data scribbled on a scrap of brown grocery bag or a torn fragment from a cereal box. True story. As a result, it occurred to me that I might humbly offer a few brief comments concerning specimen labeling. The reader is reminded that there are numerous, probably easier, methods than what I suggest here, but the ultimate objective is the same: clear, concise, legible labels. Consider the big picture ... the legacy of your specimens and data to future researchers and your enduring contribution to the science.
Since it was while curating Acmaeoderini this post suggested itself, I am concerned here with day collecting - very few
Acmaeodera come to black lights.
Needless to say, well documented specimen data begins right in the field. Depending upon your quarry, in addition to a net and/or beating sheet, the adept collector is equipped, at minimum, with a small notebook and pencil for recording data and field observations. Now days, basic GPS units are affordable. One of these is essential in at least logging your latitude and longitude and altitude (elevation). In addition, with a GPS unit, one is able to set a track line to check a series of traps in a maze of dense California chaparral or southeastern Arizona forest canopy. A small P&S digital camera is also a useful tool to have on hand.
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| Left to right: GPS Unit, pocket plant press, Post-It cards, glassine envelopes |
When collecting Acmaeoderini and any other collateral Buprestids and Cerambycids, I carry a small plant press (75 X 125 mm) for taking samples of unidentifiable host plants. A pad of blank Post-it® cards (also 75 X 125 mm) conveniently fit in the plant press where collecting notes, associated beetles and other significant information can be scrawled quickly and saved with the sample. Don’t rely on memory. Any larger, but manageable, samples showing signs of larvae I store in a large zip-loc bag. Because of their fragile antennae and legs, glassine envelopes are used to store and isolate cerambycids or other interesting Coleoptera and insects.
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| Plant sample with field notes. |
I use Arial 4 point for locality labels and 6 point for separate collector and/or host label. The latter usually small labels consisting of only two to four words of text. In addition to the host genus and species, a word or two about what part of the plant the beetle was collected on (taken from your field notes) is helpful: flowers, dead stems, flying to, etc.
To format the data into printable labels, I limit the number of characters (including spaces) to 18-24/line with four or five lines completing a label. My concern is to include the necessary information in a simple, easily read format in a practical font size. Some collectors use a 3 point font creating as many as six lines per label. Trial and error is the best approach in organizing the text to fit into a rectangular profile which will expedite cutting into individual labels later.
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When not in use, everything is stored in a plastic,
water/dust-proof container with lid |
At minimum, labels should contain:
- Country (including U.S. specimens)
- State and County (Parish, Province, Department, Zone)
- Geographic locality
- Date(s) of collection (use roman numerals for month of collection)
- Collector(s).
I will also include some of the following on the same or subsequent label:
GPS coordinates
Elevation
Method of collection (sweeping, beating)
Host (genus and species if possible but genus or family is acceptable. In the least, “roadside yellow composites” is more significant than nothing at all)
Ecological association (sand dunes, chaparral, desert transition, etc.)
A hypothetical example of a label set:
First (Top): USA,CALIF:Riverside Co.
Santa Rosa Mtns.,St.Hwy.
74, 8.5 km S.Palm Desert
1057m 15-18.VII.2013
Second: N31°15’10” W110°15’10”
D.A. La Rue,
Eriogonum
inflatum T.& F. flwrs.
Chaparral/Oak transition
Always print labels on 100% rag, acid-free, archival quality paper.
Use a pinning block to set the labels at the same uniform height(s) for each specimen.
© Delbert La Rue 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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