5.1 - Paper

The paper used for making labels should be heavy enough so that the labels remain flat and do not rotate loosely on the pin. The surface of the paper should be smooth enough to write on with a fine pen. Linen ledger paper, 100 percent rag and of 36-pound weight, is best. Smooth calendered, two-ply bristolboard is also good; it is usually obtainable from art supply stores. Also desirable is a heavy, high rag-content paper, used for professional- grade herbarium sheets; it may be obtained from biological supply houses. Labels made from poor quality paper become yellow and brittle with age, tend to curl, disintegrate in liquid preservatives, and are ,generally unsatisfactory.

5.2 - Ink

The ink should be a good grade of India ink that is permanent and will not "run" if the labels are placed in jars or vials of liquid preservative. Be sure the ink is completely dry before placing the label in the liquid. It is also helpful to use a waterproofing spray (artist's fixative) on the labels after they are dry. India ink is not always available when collecting in the field. However, labels written with a firm hand and with a moderately soft lead pencil are satisfactory. Do not use ballpoint pens or hard lead pencils for labels placed in liquids; the writing soon fades and becomes illegible.

5.3 - Lettered and Printed Labels

Hand lettered labels using technical pens with very fine points are still widely used at many institutions and by many curators. However, printed labels are preferred and are the medium of choice with most collections and collectors. They may be printed with full data or with spaces left blank for the date. Typewritten or computer generated labels may alternatively be photographed with the proper reduction in size and prints made on high quality rag or parchment bond paper as mentioned previously. Photo-offset methods can also produce satisfactory labels from typewritten copy, but the proper paper must be specified. Common off-the-shelf copier paper is not recommended because of its quality and weight.

Over the last ten years, computer generated labels printed by laser printers have become increasingly common. In the last couple of years, the wide availability and declining cost of printers capable of printing at 600 to 1200 dots per inch have made it easier to produce labels in very small point sizes (5 or less). Software that helps in generating this kind of label is widely available, and the ability to print small batches of labels as they are needed has increased the popularity of this method. In general, these labels seem to work well with pinned specimens. However, laser printed labels may not hold up well in fluids and they are quickly deteriorate in the presence of solvents or the vapors of solvents such as ethyl acetate.

5.4 - Size of Labels

One must seek a middle ground between the size of the insect on a pin and the amount of data a label will hold. Because most insects are small and the amount of necessary data takes up considerable space, try to make labels of a certain maximum size and use more than one label if more data are included. Never use more than one side of a label. The maximum size is about 8 by 18 mm, or in 4-point type, 5 lines of 5 pica length, or about 13 capital letters; however, commercial labels can be much smaller. Large beetles and butterflies need larger labels, but avoid so-called "barndoor" labels because they do not hold well on a pin. Even with very small insects, do not skimp on the amount of data just to make a small label. An advantage of a label that exceeds the size of the insect is that if the specimen is accidentally dropped, the label may keep the insect from being damaged. If capital and lowercase letters are used, it is not necessary to use spaces between words, as JBSmith, NewYork, LittleFalls. If there is any chance of ambiguity, it is best to use full spellings if there is sufficient room. With only one line of data, the label should be wide enough so that when the pin is inserted, all data are legible.

5.5 - Label Data

The indispensable data must answer the questions of where, when, and who, in that order and as exactly as feasible. Only the size of the label should limit the amount of data. This kind of data should be given as follows:

(1) Locality. The collection locality should be given in such a manner that it can be found on any good map. Latitude and longitude are preferred and should be as precise are possible. With the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS) it is now possible, for a small amount of money, to buy hand held devices that will read off the latitude and longitude to within a few hundred feet. In addition, if the place is not an officially named locality, it should be given in terms of approximate direction and distance from such a locality. The Smithsonian Institution (U.S. National Museum) recommends that for localities in the United States and Canada, the name of the State or Province be spelled in capital letters, such as ONTARIO, ALBERTA, MARYLAND, NEW YORK, and SO. CAROLINA. This method should also be used for foreign countries, as ENGLAND, PAKISTAN, GERMANY (WEST), and SRI LANKA. Then, if at all feasible, the next subordinate region should be cited in capitals and lowercase letters, such as counties and parishes in the United States and Canada and provinces elsewhere. Here are a few examples, with a virgule (/) indicating the end of a line: ARIZONA/CochiseCo./15kmNEPearce (=15 km northeast of Pearce); NEWFOUNDLAND/ Hermitage Dist./12kmWStAlbans; EGYPT Cairo/SuezRoad 38kmW/Suez;EGYPT Mud.-AI- /Tahrir22km/SWAbulMatamir; or EGYPT/Mud.-AI- Tahrir/30°05'E,30°15'N. Current two letter abbreviations for States and zip codes should not be used because they are not self explanatory and may not be permanent.

(2) Date. Cite day, month, and year in that order, preferably using the international convention of writing day and year in Arabic numerals and the month in Roman numerals without a line over and under the numerals. It is best to place a period or short dash between each number, for example, 4.VII.1978 (=July 4, 1978), 5.V.1909, 5-V-1909. If a few consecutive days have been spent collecting in one locality but not more than a week, the extreme days may be cited, for example, 5-9.V.1909; or if 3 consecutive nights of light trapping were at one spot, the median day may be cited, as 8.VI11.1984 for trapping done on the nights of the 7th to 9th of August 1984. For reared specimens, the dates of collection of the immature stages and of adult emergence should be cited, as pupa 10.VI.1980, em.24.111.1981, indicating that the pupa was collected on 10 June 1980 and the adult emerged on 24 March 1981.

(3) Collector. Spell the last name of the collector or collectors, using initials for given names if space permits. If the last name is a common one, such as Smith, Jones, or Williams, always include initials, and of a group with more than three collectors, use the leader's name followed by et al.

(4) Other Data. It is especially important to cite hosts of parasites and plant-feeding insects when known. Details of the habitat, such as elevation, ecological type, and conditions of collection, are all important and are usually put on a label in addition to the primary data. Such data are "swept from Salsola kali," "Malaise trap", "reared ex human feces," "McPhail trap in orange grove," "at light," "3,200 m," "sandy beach," and "under bark dead Populus deltoides." Do not use vernacular names of hosts unless the host is common and widespread, such as orange or horse. If the specific name of a host is not known, at least give the genus. "Vaccinium sp." is better than no name or "huckleberry." Even the family name of the host is helpful if no more specific name is available. The presumed nature of the association between insect and plant should be clearly indicated, for example, "Resting on flowers of Vaccinium sp." The word "ex" (Latin for "out of") should mean that the insect was observed feeding on or in or was bred from the mentioned plant.

As noted earlier, it is advisable to keep a notebook, in which details of locality, habitat, and other important data are kept. However, the practice of assigning code numbers to specimens or containers of specimens which refer back to field notes should be avoided. The use of such codes, which can only be deciphered by reference to notebooks, often results in collections which contain no other data than codes. Over time, the associated notebooks may become lost or misplaced and as a result, the specimens become virtually useless.

5.6 - Placing the Labels

For double-mounted insects, insert the pin through the center of the right side of the label (fig. 21b), with the long axis of the label oriented in the same direction as the card point. Use care that the pin is not inserted through, and thereby obscuring, the writing on the label. For specimens mounted by direct pinning, the label is centered under the specimen with the long axis of the label coinciding with the long axis of the specimen. The left margin of the label is toward the head of the insect. An exception to this is when specimens have the wings spread, such as Lepidoptera. The label is always aligned transversely, at right angles to the axis of the body, with the upper margin toward the head. Labels may be moved up the pin to the desired height by using a pinning block (fig. 18). The middle step of the block will give about the right height if only one label is used. When more than one label is used, space the labels on the pin beneath the specimen so that the information on the labels can be read without having to move any of them.

5.7 - Bar Coding

In recent years, collection managers have begun to use bar coding (similar to the bar codes found on food and other products) as a way to manage the masses of label data and retrieve information more efficiently. While specialists differ and what is the preferred placement for bar codes, the bar code is usually the last (bottom) label used. At the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, bar codes are often attached upside down so that a specimen can be picked up and read by the bar code scanner without moving or removing any of the other labels. Both bar code scanners and the bar codes themselves are readily obtainable from various suppliers.

5.8 - Labeling Vials

Material in fluid should be accompanied by a single label large enough to include all data. The label should be written with a moderately soft lead pencil or in India ink and well dried so that it will not dissolve or run when immersed in the liquid. Do not use a ballpoint or felt- tip pen. Hard lead pencil writing becomes illegible in liquid. Do not fold the label. Small specimens may be damaged or lost when the label is removed. Multiple labels or labels small enough to float around in the vial may also damage specimens, and when two labels lie face to face, they cannot be read. Always place labels inside the vial as there is the danger that if left outside a vial, regardless of the method or substance used to affix them, they may become defaced, destroyed, or detached.

5.9 - Labeling Microscope Slides

To label microscope slides, use square labels made expressly for this purpose and obtainable from biological supply houses. Labels with pressure-sensitive cement are now available. They are far superior to the older labels, which often came off. Put as much data on the label as feasible, including the kind of mounting medium used in case remounting is needed. Many workers use a label on each side, reserving one for the species determination (fig. 31). Never put labels on the underside of a slide.

5.10 - Identification Labels

When specimens are sent to an expert for identification, they should be accompanied by permanent collection labels giving all essential data. If associated field notes are available, copies of these should accompany the specimens. When the identification has been made, the scientific name of the specimen and the name of the identifier should be printed on a label associated with the specimen. On pinned specimens, this information is always printed on a separate label placed below the collection label or labels on the same pin. When a series of specimens consists of the same species, the identificaton label is often placed only on the first specimen in the series, with the understanding that all other specimens to the right in that row and in following rows belong to the same species. The series ends with another specimen bearing an identification label. Identifications for specimens preserved in alcohol or on slides may be written on the same label as the collection data or on a separate label, depending on the preference of the collector or person making the identification.

If care is taken and a few basic precautions are followed, a collection of insects or mites can be maintained indefinitely. The information given here is general; institutions and individuals will want to adapt materials and procedures to fit their own needs and resources.