Destructive Sampling and Information Management in Molecular Systematic Research: An Entomological Perspective

-The small size and large numbers of insect specimens handled by entomological collections present special vouchering and information management problems. There is, at the same time, an increasing trend toward integration of the results of molecular and more traditional morphology-based systematic studies. As a result, entomological museums, journals, and systematists need to develop consistent policies for the deposition of voucher specimens and for the management and databasing of the information derived from these specimens. A number of challenges in the designation of voucher specimens from molecular research are discussed, and several recommendations are made to meet these challenges. The advantages of specimen-based data management are discussed; additional recommendations are made to facilitate the integration of molecular systematic data into general specimen-based taxo-