TITLE: DToL Specimen Vouchering Standard Operating Procedure: Lepidoptera (V.1)
AUTHORS: Dominic Phillips, Geoff Martin, Inez Januszczak

[DESCRIPTION]
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) contains guidance on how to voucher Lepidoptera specimens submitted to the Darwin Tree of Life (DToL) project. The guidance specifically refers to the assembly of Lepidoptera vouchers at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London. 

For guidance on sampling and preparation for whole genome sequencing, please refer to the DToL Taxon Specific Standard Operating Procedure for the Terrestrial and Freshwater Arthropoda Working Group.

Definition: A voucher is a permanently preserved specimen that is maintained in an accessible collection. In genomics, vouchers serve as the physical evidence for the taxonomic identification of genome assemblies. 

This is version one of this SOP, and may be subject to change in the future. 





[GUIDELINES]
This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlines in more detail the voucher preparation of specimens within the insect order Lepidoptera. 

Collection and preparation of Lepidoptera specimens for barcoding and full genome sequencing should refer to DToL Taxon Specific Standard Operating Procedure for the Terrestrial and Freshwater Arthropoda Working Group. 

 

This SOP focuses mainly on using wings as the primary voucher for Lepidoptera, although other vouchering methods are mentioned. 

 

Before vouchering the specimen

Take a high-quality photograph of the specimen from both ventral and dorsal positions (lateral if possible) ensuring that any key ID features are visible before taking the voucher. This is to aid any identification verification as the specimen will later be dissected. Ensure when storing the image it is labelled with the unique identifier (e.g. QR code, specimen barcode), and if possible, for the physical barcode to be included in the image. 

Vouchering the specimen 

Note that the whole specimen must be on dry ice whilst are vouchers are being removed. 

A high quality of care must be taken when removing the wings from Lepidoptera specimens. The specimens are delicate, and the wings (re. the voucher) are liable to break or become damaged if handled incorrectly. 

 

1) Remove each wing (both sets) from the Lepidoptera specimen. These must be gently detached from the base of the wing, to cause minimal damage. Using fine forceps is recommended.   

2) For smaller Lepidoptera (such as micromoths) it can be easier to remove the wings after sampling the head/thorax/abdomen of the specimen. 
 
3) Place the wing vouchers within a glassine envelope, ideally 75x55mm (see Figure 1 for guidance). The vouchers should be placed in the left-hand corner of the envelope. Place the physical barcode in the envelope if storing temporarily. 
 
4) Record the specimen barcode number along with the corresponding Lepidoptera species checklist number in an excel spreadsheet (see note section below). 

 Labels to be included with the voucher 

Below is the description of the labels to be included with each set of Lepidoptera wing vouchers, all of which should be printed in Arial Font. 


 

Preparing the voucher for inclusion into the NHM Entomological collections 

All vouchers of the same species should be stored together. (Please see Figures 5, 6 and 7 for a visual representation of the box layout comparing individual and multiple voucher boxes). 

For storing vouchers, white cardboard unit trays lined with plastazote should be used. The dimensions will vary depending on the number of vouchers placed in each box. The below refers to typical unit tray sizes used in a museum context. 

Individual voucher: size A5 (dimensions 56mm x 42mm)
Multiple vouchers: size A4 (dimensions 112mm x 42mm)

1) Remove the barcode from the glassine envelope containing the voucher.

2) Ensure the wing vouchers are placed together in one corner of the glassine envelope. Fold the envelope in half, vertically. Cut the envelope horizontally just above the fold line (Figure 2). If the wing vouchers are too large for a vertical fold at the halfway point - adapt the folding points accordingly.  

 3) Using a number 5 entomological pin, pin the left-hand edge of the envelope containing the voucher on a plastazote sheet. Ensure the pin does not pass through the voucher. Push the pin with voucher through to stage 1 of a pinning block (the deepest stage) (see Figure 3 and Figure 4).   

 4) Using the pin holding the voucher, pin the printed, pre-cut information labels. Order of pinning and pinning block stages for labels are as follows (See Figure 4 and 5):

Barcode: Stage 2. Ensure barcode is visible from above. 
Data label: Stage 3 
Determinations label: Stage 4 

 

  5) With individual vouchers; pin the voucher and information labels into the center of the plastazote lined unit tray. 

Using No.3 cabinet point pins, pin in the species, genus and checklist numbers into the box (see Figure 6): 

Genus: Top left 
Species: Bottom right 
Checklist number: Top right

 

 


Photo credit: Dominic Phillips

[STEPS]