Archive paper

[Doug Yanega]

>I do not know how many of you prefer gluing the insects on the paper
>cards (as me) over the pinning specimens, but even in this
>colleagues who prefer pinning has to use small paper triangles for
>small specimens.
>I would like to know how safe is this paper. These small cartons
>cards are archive paper or some kind of the paper who get fragile
>and fall to pieces in ten twenty years?
>
>The same question is about identification and locality labels, do
>you use archive paper or ordinary paper?
>How is the safe this common paper (like REFLEX, etc.)?

As with many things, there is no one correct answer. Realistically,
as long as you can see all the structures of interest on a critter,
then any mounting technique is fine. The advantage of card mounting
is considerably more protection for the specimen, and a reduced
likelihood of it falling off, but for many taxa other than small
hymenoptera and diptera, card-mounting almost inevitably obscures
many important anatomical features.

At any rate, yes, acid-free paper should always be used, if at all
possible. If not, you may simply find that a few decades down the
road you may need to re-mount the specimens. Bear in mind that
re-mounting may be necessary anyway if the *adhesive* is inferior;
this is probably the most significant variable in the success or
failure of one's point/card technique. Shellac gel, white glue, hide
glue, nail polish, PVC...all sorts of options, and I'm not sure if
the verdict is fully in on all of the pros and cons of each one.
Again, which one is best is probably dependent on what your needs
are; specimens that may need to be removed and dissected will require
an adhesive that remains soluble, for instance. Accordingly, for
microhymenoptera, we prefer shellac gel on card mounts. For small
beetles, we use white glue or hide glue on points. For field mounting
in the tropics, where drying speed and holding power is essential, I
use nail polish. Only time will tell if these were poor choices.

Sincerely,
--

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82