The Fruit Fly Biosystematic Information Data Base

Biosystematic information is all data that may be useful to man about organisms, such as what is it, what is it called, what does it look like, where does it occur, what does it do, when does it do it, and what does all this mean to me (= economic importance). Biosystematic information is organized by names, arranged in a hierarchical classification based on shared (synapomorphic) similarities. Hence, biosystematic information can be obtained with a name, a species, or names of associated objects. Names are obtained by identifications, and identifications are made by matching attributes of unknown with known organisms. While that is all a logical sequence, what is reality? In reality, most users obtain biosystematic irrforrriatioTrmerely by asking systematists forIt! The Systematic Entomology Laboratory has been America's primary source of Biosystematic Information about insects and mites for more than a century. The information provided has been a critical component to our agricultural success. Today increased concern for preservation of biotic diversity and environmental quality along with the traditional needs of agriculture has increased the demand for Biosystematic Information, while fiscal problems have seriously eroded the resources available to meet the demand. One merely needs to note that over the last few years the Systematic Entomology Laboratory has lost 4 scientific positions and 7 technical support positions, while the number of identification requests has been stable. These statistics clearly document the problem. As additional base funding is unlikely given the current deficit, the Systematic Entomology Laboratory must explore new technologies for solutions to this crisis. The situation is similar at all other major centers for systematics (Australia (CSIRO), United Kingdom (BMNH), Canada (CNC), etc.). Both raw data and users' inquiries are funnelled to the systematists, who answer the inquiries, provide identifications, and compile and synthesize