New Pest Response Guidelines - aphis - US Department of Agriculture

Survey Procedures
Shipping Samples
Call the laboratory prior to shipping the samples via overnight delivery service.
Instructions and contact information are located in How to Submit Insect
Specimens on page F-1 and Taxonomic Support for Surveys on page G-1.
Collecting and Handling Samples and Specimens
Adults—Moths captured alive adults should be transferred to a killing jar with
ethyl acetate (killing agent). Adults will be quickly stunned but will be killed
slowly. The body will remain limp (unless they are left in the killing jar
overnight) in case spreading or removal of genitalia is needed (USDA, 1986).
Alternatively, adults can be collected and placed in 95 percent alcohol.
Collecting adults and storing them in dry ice will keep them in good shape in
case further taxonomic studies are planned.
Larvae and Pupae—For museum quality specimens, larvae and pupae
extracted from plant material should be placed in a vial with ethanol at 70 to 80
percent and 5 percent glacial acetic acid. This combination of chemicals
(referred to as acetic alcohol) aids in ethanol penetration and keeps specimen
tissues relaxed (USDA, 1986). For surveys, glacial acetic acid is not necessary
and 70 to 80 percent ethanol alone is all that is needed.
Immature Stages in Plant Material—Place suspect material in a plastic bag and
store in a cooler, but not frozen. A photograph should be taken in the field to
document the plant materials original state.
Data Collection
Recording negative results in surveys is just as important as positive detections
since it helps define an area of infestation. A system of data collection should
include an efficient tracking system for suspect samples such that their status is
known at various stages and laboratories in the confirmation process. If
available, use pre-programmed hand-held units with GPS capability.
Data collected during surveys should include the following:
Date of survey
Collector’s name and affiliation
Full name of business, institution, or agency
Full mailing address including country
4-14 Dendrolimus Pine Moths 12/2012-01