[Nhcoll-l] Entomology Inquiry

[Doug Yanega]

On 6/15/16 9:46 AM, Karen Morton wrote:
>
> Dear NHCOLL list members,
>
> This question goes out the entomologists in the group.
>
> 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 _physical attributes_ 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?
>
> 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.
>
> <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=>
>
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).

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 *cannot be 
identified*. It would be exceptional for anyone to keep specimens that 
cannot be IDed.

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.

NOTE: the one other criterion that could influence the decision is *how 
many* 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.

Hope this helps,

-- 
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)
              https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cache.ucr.edu_-7Eheraty_yanega.html&d=AwID-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=qjRcNefop61uDI2LEZhjH9G04PB_NGeGJAPxRNfUltU&s=RnEevvGq8gPxNI7eiBa8B17jF_TgF6QUmyrLiB6Eo3Q&e= 
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82

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