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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/15/16 9:46 AM, Karen Morton wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear NHCOLL list members,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This question goes out the entomologists in
the group.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have a long-forgotten collection of
butterflies that is finally receiving the attention it
deserves. The specimens were collected in 1944-1945 and have
been in their collecting envelopes ever since. We now have a
volunteer who skilled at softening and pinning insects and he
is trying to work his magic on this collection. Needless to
say, after all of this time, some specimens are simply falling
apart. He has also been assessing the rest of the entomology
collection since the collection hasn’t had a curator for at
least 20 years. My question to the group is, are there any
specific criteria for helping us determine what
<u>physical attributes</u> make a specimen scientifically
valuable? And this goes across the board, not just
butterflies. For example, are there any specific body parts
that are used these days for DNA sampling? Or, is this a
species-by-species determination based on how an insect is
identified? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have the data that goes with each
specimen, so that is not in question right now. We are just
looking at the specimens that are missing body parts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><a moz-do-not-send="true" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.perotmuseum.org_explore-2Dthe-2Dmuseum_traveling-2Dexhibits_2016-2Deye-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dcollector_index.html&d=AwMFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=G-Z-2DfZp4gCyTGqtr8cldgLmvwWQyR0S4pxreugZMU&s=9j8UMYPYo2CppUQXgWOOdekjow6k68h3MSgc0pFuPRQ&e="><span
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Unfortunately, the "scientific value" of a specimen is (a)
subjective, and (b) most people would rank physical condition as LOW
on the criterion list (rarity > interesting locality/date >
physical condition). <br>
<br>
If a species is very rare, people will keep it even if its physical
condition is awful; likewise, a very old, historical specimen, or
one from a noteworthy time/place might be kept even if it's in poor
shape. About the only limit would be if it is such bad shape that it
<b>cannot be identified</b>. It would be exceptional for anyone to
keep specimens that cannot be IDed.<br>
<br>
So, if I were in your position, we'd first evaluate what the
specimens were (e.g., is it a common species like a monarch or
painted lady, or is it something rare?), then where they are from
(e.g., is it a place where that same species still occurs, or
someplace interesting?), and if a specimen fails those criteria, we
would likely only keep it and spend labor mounting and labeling it
if it were pristine.<br>
<br>
NOTE: the one other criterion that could influence the decision is <b>how
many</b> specimens of taxon X from that collecting event you have.
That is, if you have 8 monarchs from a specific collecting event,
you might keep just one specimen - whichever was in the best
condition, even if it's poor - JUST so you have that data point. For
modern usage of museum specimens, data points are often MUCH more
important than the specimens themselves. Since our collection serves
data online, we always keep a bare minimum of one specimen per
species per collecting event, just to have the data; if you have no
database, then this criterion might not be as important.<br>
<br>
Hope this helps,<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwMD-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=qjRcNefop61uDI2LEZhjH9G04PB_NGeGJAPxRNfUltU&s=RnEevvGq8gPxNI7eiBa8B17jF_TgF6QUmyrLiB6Eo3Q&e=">http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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