142 Kansas Academy of Science. 



A SYSTEM OF NOTATION APPLIED TO ENTOMO- 

 LOGICAL ACCESSION?. 



By E. S. Tucker, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rogue, La. 



THE object in presenting the following outlines for use of sym- 

 bols to assign insect specimens with notes, and vice ve7'sa, is 

 to proffer an aid such as has been utilized by the writer for the 

 specification of different kinds and conditions of entomological 

 material contained in an accession. When a collection is made of 

 insects affecting one host or product, or otherwise pertaining to a 

 certain subject, the specimens being obtained at the same time 

 under like circumstances are recorded as an accession. Each ac- 

 cession is numbered consecutively, beginning with the figure 1, in 

 accordance with the order of collection. Special symbols are pro- 

 posed for the designation of particular steps in a progressive method 

 of assorting the material of an accession with regard to classifica- 

 tory and conditional discrimination of one or more species of insects. 



In practice, the method has proved very convenient for conduct- 

 int; breeding experiments with different species belonging in a 

 single accession. The procedure is especially valuable in prevent- 

 ing confusion or mistakes in the course of an investigation, and it 

 effects an assignment of the records of biological facts in corre- 

 sponding phases. 



This plan is adapted to the expansible loose-leaf or card-filing 

 system of keeping records. To maintain perfect connection be- 

 tween specimens and notes, the proper symbols used in each case 

 need to be indicated with the detailed records, and the correspond- 

 ing specimens should be similarly designated. When a specimen 

 is mounted on a pin for preservation, a pin-label bearing the ac- 

 cession number and symbols should be given a prominent place 

 among the other labels on the pin. Specimens in preservative 

 solutions, or else mounted on slides, require the designations on an 

 enclosed slip or attached tag. If distinguished by the symbols, any 

 particular specimen, when wanted, may be readily picked out from 

 a general collection. In breeding tests, specimens can be tagged 

 in a suitable manner, but alteration of symbols is made to accord 

 with change of stage and isolation. Connection between records,, 

 with modified symbols relating to a direct series, should always be 

 signified by means of cross-references. 



