Maintenance Policy Statement
All individuals using the research collections of the Snow Entomological Museum (SEM) (staff, students, associates, visitors, curatorial assistants, work-study assistants, etc.) are responsible for maintaining the following standards in those aspects of the collection that they handle. These standards insure maximum collection utility while protecting it from loss or damage through deterioration or mismanagement.
Specimen Orientation
• Orient pointed and carded specimens in tray so that the points or card tips face the head of the tray and specimen labels can be read from the left side (i.e., same label orientation as pinned specimens). Consistency in label orientation facilitates gathering of information from label data. Place specimens in neat even rows. This also makes the collection much easier to use.
Choice and Labeling of Unit Trays
• Use foam-bottom unit trays only, with foam firmly glued in. Unit trays with loose foam should be removed from the collection and put aside for regluing.
• Type name (genus, species, author) on card just below top and insert at head of unit tray. Do not underline name.
• Type name with fresh carbon or nylon ribbon on computer printer or typewriter.
• Place large (1/4 inch) geographic color code dot in upper right corner of each unit tray label (see outline maps for color code). Each tray will normally have specimens from only one region. If specimens from different regions are in a single unit tray, use multiple dots on the label or, preferably, divide the series by region in different unit trays and label the first specimen in each unit tray with name and determiner.
• The representation of a species in the collection by a holotype should be indicated by a red label pinned in the appropriate unit tray reading "Holotype in type collection: Type No._____". A tray with appropriate label should be included in the arranged collection even if it only contains a holotype label.
Organization of Collection
• A single integrated world collection for each family is the goal. Geographic segregation should be used only as a last resort (e.g., in families where nearly everything is unidentified), as an interim measure for undetermined or unsorted material, or as a temporary measure when active research dictates that geographic arrangement is most convenient. Integration must be correlated with the use of color-coded geographic dots on tray labels so that species from a particular region can be located easily. Recommended geographic sequence: Nearctic, Neotropical, Palearctic, Afrotropical, Oriental, Pacific, Australian.
• Organize the collection to the tribal or subtribal level according to a recent and widely accepted world classification if available (e.g., Coleopterorum Catalogus for many beetles) to the tribal or subtribal level. However, families for which no current accepted world classification is available in the Snow Entomological Museum (SEM) and/or for which no expertise exists among current staff of SEM will be arranged alphabetically by genus.
• Arrange genera alphabetically within the next higher taxon.
• Arrange species alphabetically within each genus. Organization of species by subgenus should probably be avoided except in special cases, but subgenus can be given on tray label.
• Place unidentified species at the end of higher taxon to which they are identified to (genus, tribe, subfamily, family, etc.), sorted and labeled geographically.
• Place higher taxon names (family, subfamily, tribe, etc.) and generic names on outside drawer label.
• Place unit trays upside down to act as spacers, but leave temporarily-empty units (e.g., for loans) upright with label "on loan ....., date.....".
• Always label drawers containing specimens with contents; empty drawers should have a blank label or no label.
• Holotypes should be placed in the type collection in appropriately labeled unit trays. Paratypes should be placed in the arranged collection. Both holotype and paratypes should be recorded in the type catalogue as soon after publication as possible.
Fumigation and Pest Control
• All drawers should have a small (2x4) unit tray of naphthalene crystals placed in the lower right-hand corner. The entire collection should be checked at least once a year and depleted crystals replaced.
• At first sign of pest damage in a drawer, remove the drawer from the collection and place entire drawer in -40 C freezer for 48 hours, remove for 24 hours, then refreeze for 24 hours. After treatment, remove any sign of damage from the drawer and replace in collection. Check drawer and adjacent drawers for damage weekly for at least one (1) month after treatment.
• All dried insect material entering the collection (returned loans, recent acquisitions from expeditions, exchanges, gifts, etc.) should be frozen for 48 hours in -40 C freezer, removed for 24 hours, then refrozen for 24 hours. After treatment the material should be placed in a cabinet which contains open trays of naphthalene until the specimens are integrated into the collection.