VOUCHER SPECIMENS

 

  All students are required to submit voucher specimens to the Curator of the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum (LSAM) documenting species studied in their theses or dissertation research.  A voucher specimen is any specimen that is the subject of study and is retained as a reference.  For optimal utility, voucher specimens should be housed in a museum that can properly preserve, curate, and make them available for further study.  They should be part of a publicly accessible scientific reference collection.

 Guidelines for voucher specimens:

• A statement indicating where the voucher specimens are deposited is required in the theses or dissertation (e.g., voucher specimens are deposited in the LSAM );

• A series of 10 specimens of each species is suggested, but a single pair, ♀and ♂, is adequate if the species is a common economic pest;

• Specimens from different localities should be included if site to site variation is an important aspect of the research;

• Specimens must be properly preserved and labeled (direct q uestions to LSAM personnel);

• Label paper should be 100% rag, 36 lb. ledger (this paper and instructions for computer generated labels are available in the LSAM);

• Each specimen requires three labels placed on the pin in the following order: data label, determination label, and voucher label (see below);

• Maximum size of all labels is 10 x 20 mm;

• If specimens are preserved in alcohol or on slides the same information must be placed with them.

 

 VOUCHER SPECIMENS (cont.)

 

Data labels should read as follows (if all the information will not fit on one label, use two):

  Country: State: Parish or County   Ex. USA: LA: W. Feliciana Par.

  Specific locality & Lat./Long.    Feliciana Preserve

  Date ( Day-Month-Year)    30o47’N, 91o15’W

  (month in roman numerals)    30-xii-2003 C.E. Carlton

  Collectors name (both initials)   Mesophytic Forest/Berlese

  Ecological Data &/or Collecting Method

 

 Determination labels should read:

  Genus species Author    Ex. Reaganis huangi Ottea

  Det. “name of identifier & year”   Det. J.A. Ottea 2011

 

 Voucher labels should read:

  VOUCHER SPECIMEN   Ex. VOUCHER SPECIMEN

  Student’s name & year of graduation   J. D. Smith 2004

  LSU thesis or dissertation     LSU MS Thesis