A technique for setting and mounting microlepidoptera

A technique for setting and mounting microlepidoptera
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发表时间:
1994
影响因子:
0.2
通讯作者:
J. Landry;B. Landry
J. Landry;B. Landry
中科院分区:
农林科学4区
文献类型:
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作者:
J. Landry;B. Landry

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刚收集的经氨处理过的小鳞翅目,被钉在针上,铺在小的、浅的、有凹槽的塑料衬里的盒子里,用装在短针上的小卡点或半透明的设置纸条来固定翅膀。该方法产生高质量的标本,快速,使用紧凑,重量轻,廉价的设备。这种方法也是通用的,因为任何想要的设置质量,从初步的,部分的设置到最好的设置,都可以在任何条件下,无论是在家里还是在采集探险中,用同样的设备以同样的效率获得。说明了该方法的主要步骤。本文还介绍了一种分阶段的方法。附加关键词:铺装箱,分期,双安装,氨气。在过去的90年里,有几篇论文详细介绍了制备(固定、设置和安装)微翅目昆虫的技术(例如,Kearfott 1904, Calmbach 1921, Lhomme 1926, 1927a, 1927b, Amsel 1935, Holland 1937, Janse 1939, Janmoullc 1943, Charlson 1945, Lindquist 1956, Hodges 1958, Lewis 1965, Tagestad 1974, Zimmerman 1978, Sokoloff 1980, Mikkola 1986)。然而,我们与许多鳞翅目学家的接触表明,至少在北美,制备小鳞翅目的良好和简单的技术并不为人所知。事实上,许多北美鳞翅目学家甚至不像其他鳞翅目那样常规地收集微鳞翅目,部分原因是他们认为准备这些鳞翅目很不方便。采集到的小鳞翅目通常都是较大的标本,如锥体类、三角类和大球巢类。在许多标本中缺乏来自北美的优质小鳞翅目是新北极区系系统研究进展缓慢的原因之一。我们对许多小鳞翅目科的分类和特征的了解少得惊人。最近有人请求北美鳞翅目学家收集和研究微鳞翅目(De Benedictis 1993)。当然,这一努力的第一步是获得一种良好而有效的制备标本的技术。制备小鳞翅目的方法可能几乎和收集它们的个体一样多。扩散小鳞翅目的基本方法与扩散大鳞翅目的基本方法相同。由于小鳞翅目的体积小且易碎,因此在采集、准备和设备方面都需要进行一些调整。多年来,我们尝试了我们所知道的各种不同的制备方法和变化。虽然大多数技术可以产生高质量的标本,但许多技术的缺点是速度相对较慢或需要一些笨重的设备(例如铺板),不适合在困难条件下进行长时间的野外工作。我们试图开发一种技术来弥补这些问题,即一种在任何条件下都能快速使用的技术,具有相同的效率,但在收集器所需的制备质量方面是通用的。这里描述的技术的早期版本由Landry(1991)以法语出版,但我们对其进行了轻微修改,添加了一些内容。我们的方法实际上结合了微型鳞翅目昆虫使用的其他方法的元素,并进行了改进。它基于将微鳞翅目放在盒子底部的概念,这至少可以追溯到Amsel(1935)。现代材料,尤其是致密聚乙烯泡沫,极大地增强了Amsel方法的结果。现在,许多小鳞翅目昆虫学家在收集旅行中使用这种箱中的部分扩散(Zimmerman 1978:50-59, Nielsen 1980)。部分铺展的主要缺点是特殊的标本,如新种类型或摄影所需的标本,可能需要随后的松弛才能最终铺展。这里展示的技术提供了全方位的准备质量的可能性,从未铺开到完全铺开,正如完美主义者所希望的那样小心翼翼,所有这些都是用同样的设备,几乎没有任何额外的时间。这项技术可以在野外、实验室或家中使用。所需的设备体积小、重量轻、价格低廉,而且容易制造。在过去的几年里,我们已经在数以万计的小鳞翅目昆虫身上测试了这种方法,测试条件从当地一日游到热带地区长达一个月的探险(包括露营)。除了对小鳞翅目的实际设置技术外,还对野外采集标本的处理和标本分期(双挂)展放提出了一些建议。对采集到的小鳞翅目昆虫进行适当的处理,与实际设置一样,对于获得高质量的标本至关重要,因此,在后续处理中确保安全保存的最后阶段也是至关重要的。
Freshly collected and ammonia-killed microlepidoptera, pinned on minutens, are spread in small, shallow, plastazote-lined boxes with grooves, using either small card points mounted on short pins or translucent setting paper strips to hold the wings. The method produces high-quality specimens, is fast, and uses compact, light-weight, inexpensive equipment. The method is also versatile in that any desired quality of setting, from preliminary, partial setting to the finest setting, can be attained with the same equipment with equal efficiency under any condition, whether at home or on collecting expeditions. The main steps of the method are illustrated. A technique for staging minutenpinned specimens is also presented. Additional key words: spreading box, staging, double-mount, ammonia. During the past 90 years, several papers have presented, with various amounts of detail, techniques for preparing (pinning, setting, and mounting) microlepidoptera (e.g., Kearfott 1904, Calmbach 1921, Lhomme 1926, 1927a, 1927b, Amsel 1935, Holland 1937, Janse 1939, Janmoullc 1943, Charlson 1945, Lindquist 1956, Hodges 1958, Lewis 1965, Tagestad 1974, Zimmerman 1978, Sokoloff 1980, Mikkola 1986). However, our contacts with many lepidopterists indicate that, at least in North America, good and simple techniques for preparing microlepidoptera are not well known. In fact, many North American lepidopterists do not even collect microlepidoptera as routinely as other Lepidoptera, in part because of the perceived inconvenience of preparing them. Microlepidoptera that are collected are often only the larger specimens, in groups such as pyraloids, tortricoids, and large gelechioids. The paucity of good quality microlepidoptera from North America in many collections is one of the causes for the very slow progress in systematic studies of the Nearctic fauna. Our knowledge of the taxonomy and faunistics of many families of microlepidoptera is shockingly poor. A plea recently has been made for North American lepidopterists to take on the collection and study of microlepidoptera (De Benedictis 1993). Of course the first step in this endeavour is to acquire a good and efficient technique for preparing specimens. There are probably nearly as many ways of preparing microlepidoptera as there are individuals collecting them. The basic method of spreading microlepidoptera is the same as for larger Lepidoptera. How206 JOURNAL OF THE LEPIDOPTERISTS' SOCIETY ever, some adjustments, both at the time of collecting and of preparation, and in the equipment, are needed because of the small size and fragility of microlepidoptera. Over the years we have tried every different method and variation of preparation for microlepidoptera that we came to know. While most techniques can yield high-quality specimens, many suffer from being relatively slow or requiring somewhat cumbersome equipment (e.g., spreading boards) ill-suited for prolonged field work under difficult conditions. We sought to develop a technique that offsets these problems, i.e. one that is rapid and usable under any condition with equal efficiency, yet versatile with respect to the quality of preparation desired by the collector. An earlier version of the technique described here was published in French by Landry (1991) but we have modified it slightly, with some additions. Our method actually combines elements from other methods employed by microlepidopterists, with added refinements. It is based on the concept of setting microlepidoptera on the bottom of a box, which can be traced back at least to Amsel (1935). Modern materials, especially dense polyethylene foam, dramatically enhance the results of Amsel's method. Partial spreading in such boxes is now used by many microlepidopterists on collecting trips (Zimmerman 1978:50-59, Nielsen 1980). The main shortcoming of partial spreading is that special specimens, such as types of new species or those needed for photography, may need subsequent relaxation for final spreading. The technique exposed here offers the possibility of a full range of quality of preparations, from unspread to fully spread with as much care as a perfectionist may wish, all with the same equipment and with hardly any extra time. The technique may be used in the field, in the lab, or at home. The necessary equipment is very compact, light-weight, inexpensive, and easily made. We have tested the method with tens of thousands of microlepidoptera over the past few years, under conditions varying from local day trips to month-long expeditions in the tropics (including camping). In addition to the actual technique of setting microlepidoptera, we offer some suggestions for handling specimens when they are collected in the field, and for staging (double-mounting) spread specimens. Appropriate handling of collected microlepidoptera is as critical as the actual setting in obtaining high quality specimens, and so is the final staging to insure safe preservation in subsequent handling.