Preserving and vouchering butterflies and moths for large-scale museum-based molecular research.

Soowon Cho,Kim Mitter,Chris A Hamilton,Charles Mitter,David Plotkin,Samantha W Epstein,Akito Y Kawahara

doi:10.7717/peerj.2160

Abstract

Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) comprise significant portions of the world’s natural history collections, but a standardized tissue preservation protocol for molecular research is largely lacking. Lepidoptera have traditionally been spread on mounting boards to display wing patterns and colors, which are often important for species identification. Many molecular phylogenetic studies have used legs from pinned specimens as the primary source for DNA in order to preserve a morphological voucher, but the amount of available tissue is often limited. Preserving an entire specimen in a cryogenic freezer is ideal for DNA preservation, but without an easily accessible voucher it can make specimen identification, verification, and morphological work difficult. Here we present a procedure that creates accessible and easily visualized “wing vouchers” of individual Lepidoptera specimens, and preserves the remainder of the insect in a cryogenic freezer for molecular research. Wings are preserved in protective holders so that both dorsal and ventral patterns and colors can be easily viewed without further damage. Our wing vouchering system has been implemented at the University of Maryland (AToL Lep Collection) and the University of Florida (Florida Museum of Natural History, McGuire Center of Lepidoptera and Biodiversity), which are among two of the largest Lepidoptera molecular collections in the world.

Highlights

With over 157,000 described species, Lepidoptera is one of the most diverse insect orders (Van Nieukerken et al, 2011)
Butterflies and moths have been preserved as dried, pinned specimens with their wings spread, allowing for aesthetically pleasing displays and access to genitalia, the dissection of which has been a standard for Lepidoptera taxonomy for centuries (Knolke et al, 2005)
The preservation of specimens for both morphological and molecular research should be considered a fundamental aspect of the mission of natural history collections

Summary

Introduction

With over 157,000 described species, Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) is one of the most diverse insect orders (Van Nieukerken et al, 2011). Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) comprise significant portions of the world’s natural history collections, but a standardized tissue preservation protocol for molecular research is largely lacking.

Results

Conclusion