Submissions

Author Guidelines

Accepted Content Types: Articles, Essays, Reviews, Editorials, Case reports

Peer-review process

All manuscript submissions are evaluated by at least 2 subject matter experts, selected by the editors, familiar with the topic, and 3 editors adept at scientific writing. Submissions may be reviewed more than the minimum number of times. The editors may request additional reviews of the manuscript as needed. Acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is the responsibility of the editors.

Editors may withdraw a manuscript if there is a significant flaw with the data, or substantial portions of the manuscript need to be edited before publication. Withdrawn manuscripts may be resubmitted for later publication, provided authors take into account editor and reviewer comments. Resubmitted manuscripts will be subject to the entire peer-review process again.

Online submissions

Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions. Register for a JVFS account, or use Instars login credentials.

Order and requirements of elements

1. Title, encompassing the scope of the research question, presented in a scientific tone, with information about the project without ambiguity
2. Authors, including affiliation and address of all contributors, and the phone number and email address of the corresponding author
3. Abstract, in fewer than 250 words, including the scientific name (including order:family), if referring to an organism
   • Do not cite references, figures, tables, probability levels, or specific results.
   • Optional foreign language abstract: All articles will have an English abstract. However, to encourage international communication, authors may include a second abstract in a language other than English. (Spanish, French, German, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, or Japanese are common.) It is the author's responsibility to provide an accurate and grammatically correct non-English version. Do not repeat the keywords.
4. Keywords, three to five singular nouns, separated by commas
   • Spell out scientific names.
   • Do not combine different subjects as one keyword (e.g., "pesticides and grass," should be two separate keywords, "pesticide, grass.")
   • Do not use scientific names and common names at the same time as one keyword.
5. Introduction(without heading) clearly stating the basis of your study along with the background of the problem and a statement of purpose
6. Materials and methods, including a clear and concise description of the study design, experimental execution, materials, and method of statistical analysis; and in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations
7. Results, in logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures; and differentiated from the interpretation of the findings
8. Discussionor combined Results and Discussion, emphasizing or summarizing important observations, with suggestions for the direction of future studies, if appropriate
   • Emphasize the new and noteworthy aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in Introduction or Results. Include in the discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the study's goals, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not entirely supported by the data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.
9. Conclusions
10. Acknowledgments placed after the text, organized in paragraph form in the following order: persons (omit all professional titles and degrees), groups, granting institutions, grant numbers, and serial publication numbers.
11. Disclosures
12. References(see below for guidelines on formatting reference citations)
13. Footnotes, unnumbered, used only for disclaimers and animal-use information and placed on a separate page after References. Examples of footnotes are:
    • This article reports the results of research only. Mention of a proprietary product does not constitute an endorsement or a recommendation by the USDA for its use.
    • In conducting the research described in this report, the investigators adhered to the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals," as promulgated by the Committee on Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council. The facilities are fully accredited by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Care.
14. Tablesand figures, with legends, cited in numerical order as they should appear in the text (see below for guidelines on formatting tables and figures)
15. Supporting information(see below for guidelines on formatting supporting information)
16. The manuscript will be double-spaced and have continuous line numbers.

References

Authors should follow the name–year system presented in the University of Chicago Press Scientific Style And Format.

In-text citation

• Single author:(Smith 1993)
• Two authors:(Smith and Jones 1993)
• Multiple citations:(Smith 1996, Smith et al. 1997, Jones 1998)
• Multiple publications by the same author(s):(Smith et al. 1995a, 1995b, 1997; Jones 1996)
• Personal communications:(Jones 1988; LJ Smith, personal communication). Obtain and forward (at submission) a letter of permission to use citations to personal communications (from those other than authors).
• Unpublished data:(LJS, unpublished data) for one author or (unpublished data) for all authors. Obtain and forward (at submission) a letter of permission to use citations to unpublished data (from those other than authors).
• In press:(Smith 1997) for in press, citing the projected year of publication.
• Software:(PROC GLM, SAS Institute 1999) for the software user's manual.

Cite only those articles published or formally accepted for publication (in press). Include all references mentioned in the text. Include enough information to allow the reader to obtain cited material (e.g., book and proceedings citations must include name and location [city and state or country] of the publisher).

Abbreviate journal titles according to the most recent issue of BIOSIS Serial Sources or the NLM catalog. For non-English titled journals cited in the references, the journal's title should be spelled out and not abbreviated. Systematics-related articles may specify that all serial titles be spelled out for final publication. Citations and references should not be numbered.

End references

Alphabetical order (chronological for one author or more than two authors, and alphabetical order [by surname of the second author] for two authors)

• Journal articles:Author(s). Date. Article title. J Abbr. Volume(issue):location. [Accessed yyyy mmm d.] URL/DOI
  • Evans MM. 2000. Article title: subtitle (begin with lowercase after colon or dash unless the first word is a proper noun). J Abbr. 00(0):298–300. [Accessed yyyy mmm d.] net/article.html
  • Evans MM. 2001a. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):200–10. [Accessed yyyy mmm d.] org/10.1109/5.771073
  • Evans MM. 2001b. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):201–9. [Accessed yyyy mmm d.] DOI: 10.1109/5.771073
  • Evans MM, Burns RA. 2001. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):000–00.
  • Evans MM, Tyler B. 2001. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):000–00.
  • Evans MM, Tyler B, Munro CA. 2000. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):000–00.
  • Evans MM, Burns RA, Dunn BA. 2001. Article title. J Abbr. 00(0):000–00.
• In press:Evans MM. 2002. Article title. J Econ Entomol (in press).
• Books
  • Burns RA. 2001. Title (initial cap only): subtitle (no initial cap after the colon). Publisher, city, state abbreviation, or country.
  • Evans MM. 2001. Colorado potato beetle, 2nd ed. Publisher, city, state abbreviation, or country.
  • Tyler B. 2001. Western corn rootworm, vol. 2. Publisher, city, state abbreviation, or country.
• Article or chapter in a book:Author(s). Article or chapter title. In:Editor(s), editors. Book title.2nd ed. Philadelphia (PA): Publisher; c2000. p. 709–55.
  • McEwen BJ. 2018. Strangulation, suffocation, and asphyxia. In:Brooks JW, editor. Veterinary forensic pathology. Vol. 1. Cham (Switzerland): Springer. p. 129–48. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-67172-7_8.
• Proceedings:Editor(s). Date. Book title.Number and name of conference; date of conference; place of conference. Place of publication: publisher. Extent. Notes.
  • Evans MM, Tyler B, Dunn BA, editors. c2003. IVFSA 2018.Proceedings of the 12th Annual Veterinary Forensic Science Conference; 2019 May 8–10; St. Petersburg, FL. Gainsville (FL): International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association.
  • Bradley N. 2016. Asphyxia: the unusual tale of two cases. North American Veterinary Community conference; 2016 Jan 16–20; Orlando. NAVC. p. 353–5.
• Conference papers:Author(s) of paper. Date. Title of paper. In: Editor(s). Book title. Number and name of conference; date of conference; place of conference. Place of publication: publisher. Location. Notes.
  • Lee DJ, Bates D, Dromey C, Xu X, Antani S. c2003. An imaging system correlating lip shapes with tongue contact patterns for speech pathology research. In:Krol M, Mitra S, Lee DJ, editors. CBMS 2003. Proceedings of the 16th IEEE Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems; New York. Los Alamitos (CA): IEEE Computer Society. p. 307–13.
  • Martin PD, Kuhlman J, Moore S. 2001. Yield effects of European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) feeding. In:Proceedings, 19th Illinois Cooperative Extension Service Spray School; 24 1985 June 27; Chicago, IL. Place of publication: publisher. p. 345–56.
  • Rossignol PA. 2001. Parasite modification of mosquito probing behavior. In:Scott TW, Grumstrup-Scott J, editors. Proceedings, Symposium: the role of vector–host interactions in disease transmission. National Conference of the Entomological Society of America; 1985 Dec 10; Hollywood, FL. Lanham (MD): Entomological Society of America. p. 25 8. Miscellaneous publication 68.
• No author given
  • (USDA) U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2001. Title. USDA, Beltsville, MD.
  • (IRRI) International Rice Research Institute. 2001. Title. IRRI, City, State or Country.
  • (AFWA) Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Furbearer Conservation Technical Work Group (Washington, DC). 2017. Bodygrip traps on dryland: a guide to responsible use. Washington (DC): AFWA (US).
  • Responsive Management (Harrisonburg, VA). 2015. Trap use, furbearers trapped, and trapper characteristics in the United States in 2015. Washington (DC): Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (US). Grant no.: F15AP00158.
• Theses and dissertations:Author(s). Date. Title of dissertation or thesis [content designator]. Place of publication: publisher. Extent. Notes.
  • James H. 2001. Thesis title: subtitle [master’s thesis]. [Philadelphia (PA)]: University of Pennsylvania.
  • Lutz M. 1989. Dissertation title: subtitle [dissertation]. [Stanford (CA)]: Stanford University.
• Database:Non-target trapping incidents database. 1990–. Silver Spring (MD): Born Free USA. [accessed 2018 Mar 7, 2020 May 3]. org/trapping-incidents-search.
• Patents:Harred JF, Knight AR, McIntyre JS, inventors; Dow Chemical Company, assignee. 1972 Apr 4. Epoxidation process. U.S. patent 3,654,317.
• Software:SAS Institute. 2001. PROC user's manual, version 6th ed. Cary (NC): SAS Institute.

Tables

Embed tables within the body of the manuscript. Double-space and number all tables. Boldface table title. Do not repeat the data already presented in the text. If a table continues on more than one page, repeat column headings on the subsequent page(s).

Title of tables. Place the title of the table above the table itself. The title should be short and descriptive. Boldface table number and title only. Include "means + SEM" in the title if applicable. Do not footnote title; use the unlettered first footnote to include general information necessary to understand the table (e.g., define terms, abbreviations, and statistical tests).

• Example:Table 1—Developmental times (days) of  fusca stages at constant temperatures under laboratory conditions (75 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 12:12 [L:D] h)

Lines. Use horizontal lines to separate title from column headings, column headings from the data field, and data field from footnotes. Do not use vertical lines to separate columns. All columns must have headings.

Abbreviations. Use approved abbreviations. Use abbreviations already defined in the text and define others in the general footnote. Use the following abbreviations in the body or column headings of tables only: amt (amount), avg (average), concn (concentration), diam (diameter), exp (experiment), ht (height), max (maximum), min. (minimum), no. (number), prepn (preparation), temp (temperature), vs (versus), vol (volume), wt (weight). Use the following abbreviations for months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

Operational signs. Repeat operational signs throughout the data field. Insert a space on either side of the sign (1.42 ± 1.36).

Spacing. Leave no space between lowercase letters and their preceding values (e.g., 731.2ab).

Footnotes to tables. Use footnotes to define or clarify column headings or specific datum within the data field. Do not footnote the title; use the unlettered first footnote to include general information necessary to understand the table (e.g., define terms, abbreviations, and statistical tests). The use of asterisks is reserved for statistical significance only.

• Example:Means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P < 0.05; Student t-test [Abbott 1925]). *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; NS, not significant).

Use lowercase italicized superscripted letters to indicate footnotes. Footnote letters should appear in the table in consecutive order, from left to right across the table then down the page.

Figures

Figures may be embedded in the manuscript. Figures may be in black and white, or color. Figures should be inserted in the manuscript file in one of the following formats: TIFF, PNG, or JPEG. GIF formats, such as from websites, are not acceptable and produce poor quality printouts because of low resolution, even for peer-review purposes. Charts from Excel and SigmaPlot should not be inserted unless they are in one of the above formats.

Figure preparation. Although figures of any size can be submitted, figures that fit exactly the width of 1 column (3.3 in, 84 mm) or 2 columns (6.5 in, 165 mm) expedite the publication process. Figures should be no longer than 195 mm from top to bottom. Separate parts of the same figure must be grouped and arranged to use space efficiently. Wherever possible, it is best to avoid using a full page for a set of illustrations. Authors should attempt to have each figure appear separately from the others and consider numbering illustrations as separate figures rather than as multiple parts of the same figure.

When choosing a font size, remember that it should be large enough so that reduction to fit the journal page will not make lettering challenging to read. Final lettering size should be at least 8- or 9-point using the san-serif fonts Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, or Arial. Letter locants on figures composed of more than one element should match those in the text (either upper- or lowercase). Use a scale bar instead of magnification and define scale in the figure caption. Figures will not be re-lettered, nor will flaws be corrected.

Photographs. Photographs may be used as figures and should be inserted into the manuscript and labeled as figures accordingly. Photographs should be inserted in the manuscript file in one of the following formats: TIFF, PNG, or JPEG. GIF formats, such as from websites, are not acceptable and produce poor quality printouts because of low resolution, even for peer-review purposes.

Abbreviations and symbols. Abbreviations and symbols in figures should match those in the text or be defined in legends.

Figure captions. Type all captions double-spaced. Place the figure caption below the figure. Each figure placed in the manuscript must be referred to in the text. All captions should be in paragraph form, starting with Figure 1 (etc.) and an em dash (—), as shown by the example below. The caption should be a description of the figure and include all relevant information, including P values, symbols, etc. The caption should be written in sentence format, with periods after each phrase. Letter locants on figures composed of more than one element should match those in the text (either upper- or lowercase). Do not use equal signs to define abbreviations; use commas (e.g., Ap, barometric pressure).

• Example:Figure 1—Relationship between the percentage of defoliation of oak trees and gypsy moth population density. a) Defoliation and egg mass density. b) Defoliation of egg density.
• Example:Figure 2—Longevity compared to  fusca adults at different temperatures. The females' development time was significantly higher than that of males (*P < 0.001, student’s t-test).

Supporting information

Supporting information may be submitted in the form of one or more (8 maximum) files to accompany the online version of an article. Such material often consists of large tables, data sets, or videos, usually not possible or convenient to present in print media. Supporting information represents substantive information to be posted on the JVFS website that enhances and enriches the information presented in the main body of a paper. However, the paper must stand on its own without the need for the reader to access the supplemental information to understand and judge the merits of the paper. Any files containing supporting information must be provided at the time of manuscript submission to be distributed to reviewers as part of the normal peer-review process. The authors should alert the editor to the presence of supporting information in their cover letter at submission. Once a paper is published, the content of accompanying supporting information files cannot be altered. Although the content of any submitted supporting information is subject to normal peer-review and any changes required by the editor, no copyediting will be performed by the journal’s production staff. Therefore, the authors are responsible for the suitable format and final appearance of supporting information after the paper's acceptance.

Supporting information should be referenced in the main paper (e.g., Supp. Table S1; Appendix 1), where a link will take the online reader to the file. Each supplemental file must be labeled with an appropriate title and prefaced by a short (50 words maximum) summary description of the contents. Within each file, all tables, figures, videos, or other materials must be accompanied by an appropriate caption. Literature citations within supplemental material should be listed in References at the end of the file, even when a citation is duplicated in the main body of the paper. Videos should be brief (less than 5 min) and kept to a reasonable size to facilitate downloading by readers.

Notes on formatting

Capitalization. Do not capitalize the following words in titles or subheadings: a, an, and, as, at, be, by, for, in, of, on, per, to, the.

Abbreviations. Use standard abbreviations as listed in the Council of Biology Editors' Scientific Style and Format, The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed., or those listed in this guide. Avoid nonstandard abbreviations.

Abbreviations for time. Use the following abbreviations for time: h (hour), min (minute), s (second), yr (year), mo (month), wk (week), d (day). Do not add "s" to create plurals (e.g., wk, not wks).

Dates. When citing dates in the text (not in tables, taxonomic reports, or references), do not abbreviate month or days of the week. Use this format: 1998 December 31. When citing dates in tables, graphs, and end references, where short forms are needed, abbreviate months and days of the week to their first 3 letters without a period (e.g., 2019 Jun 20).

Metric units. Use metric units. English units may follow within parentheses only if they are of direct practical purpose.

Liter. Do not abbreviate "liter" by itself or when accompanied by a numeral.

Percentage versus %. Use "%" only with numerals and in tables and figures. Close up space to numerals (e.g., 50%). Otherwise, use the word percentage (e.g., percentage of defoliation).

Per versus slash. Use "per" rather than a slash unless reporting measurements in unit-to-unit (e.g., insects per branch, not insects/branch; but g/cm2, not g per cm2).

Numbers. Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence. Spell out the numbers zero and one (2 and up are always used as numerals), unless they are used as units of measure (e.g., one child, 1 year, 1 mm, 3 dogs, 8 g, 3 ft, 0600 hours, mean of 0; NOT 1 child, one year, one mm, three dogs, eight grams, three feet, six o'clock am, mean of zero), when they are part of a series (e.g., 0, 1, 3, 5, ...) or are closely or intermittently linked with other numbers (e.g., 1 of 5 animals). Spell out single-digit ordinals (corresponding to the numbers 1 to 9) used as adjectives or adverbs, along with twofold, one-way ANOVA, and one-half. Ordinals from 10 and higher are numerals, such as 10th or 51st. In some cases, such as a long list of items (e.g., 8 flies, 6 mosquitoes, 4 butterflies, and 10 bees), exceptions can be made if the editor concurs. The editorial staff will have flexibility in interpreting the rule.

Zeros with P values. All numbers less than 1 must be preceded by a zero (e.g., P < 0.05).

Commas. When a number is greater than 1,000, use a comma to separate hundreds from thousands.

Semicolon. Use a semicolon to separate different types of citations (Figure 4; Table 2).

Repeating symbols. It is unnecessary to repeat symbols or units of measure in a series (e.g., 30, 40, and 60%, respectively).

Heading levels

First-level headings

Used to divide the manuscript into major sections, e.g., Materials and Methods

Flush left on a separate line, boldface, with initial capital letters.

Second-level headings

Used where multiple levels of headings may be necessary.

Flush left on a separate line, italicized, boldface, in sentence case.

Third-level headings

Used to divide second-level sections into smaller sections.

Italicized, not boldface, in sentence case, at the start of the first paragraph within the section, followed by an em dash (—).

Scientific names

Scientific names and authorities (optional) must be spelled out (except for Fabricius and Linnaeus, which are abbreviated as F. and L., respectively) the first time a species is mentioned in the abstract and again in the main body of the text.

Use of animals as subjects

All articles illustrating the use of animals as research subjects must have IACUC approval and must include the IACUC approval number in the text of the manuscript. Full contact information of the IACUC office approving the protocol and full protocol description must be provided to JVFS at the editors' request. Failure to provide all requested information relating to animal use will result in a rejection of the manuscript by the JVFS.

Manufacturers

In parentheses, provide the manufacturer's name and location (city, state) and model number of relevant materials and equipment. Use generic names when possible (e.g., self-sealing plastic bags).

Reporting requirements for statistical tests

All data reported (except for descriptive biology) must be subjected to statistical analysis. Descriptive biology should include information such as sample sizes and the number of replications. The authors are responsible for the statistical method selected and for the accuracy of their data. The authors should be able to justify using a particular statistical test when requested by an editor. The results of statistical tests may be presented in the text, tables, and figures. Statistical methods should be described in Materials and Methods with appropriate references. Experimental designs should also be described fully in Materials and Methods. Descriptions should include sample sizes and the number of replications. See the specific section in this style guide for suggestions on the formatting of statistical results. Only t-tests and analyses of variance require no citation. Cite the computer program user's manual in References.

Probit or Logit

When presenting results of probit/logit analysis, these columns should be included in tables (in this order, left to right); n, slope + SE, LD (or LC) (95% CL), and chi-square (χ2). When a ratio of one LD versus another is given, it should be given with its 95% CI.

Statistical tests to show what model best fits data intended to estimate the 99.9986% level of effectiveness should be presented to justify the use of any model, including the probit model. Thus, we do not recommend using Probit 9 without tests to show that the probit model fits the data.

Analysis of variance or t-test

When presenting the results of the analysis of variance or a t-test, specify F (or t) values, degrees of freedom (df), and P values. This information may be placed in parentheses in the text. Example: (F = 9.26; df = 4, 26; P < 0.001). If readability of the text is affected by the presence of repeated parenthetical statistical statements, place them in a table.

Regression

In regressions, specify the model, define all variables, and provide estimates of variances for parameters and the residual mean-square error. Italicize variables in equations and text.

Variance and sample size

Include an estimate of the variance and sample size for each mean regardless of the method chosen for unplanned multiple comparisons. The use of Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) is not acceptable as a mean separation test as it is no longer commonly accepted as a method for post hoc mean separation analysis.

Model analysis

At the beginning of the manuscript, authors should clearly state the goals of their model construction and analysis. Evaluation by reviewers depends upon these goals and the type of model. Authors should attempt to describe the main conclusions, limitations, and sensitivity of results to assumptions. For stochastic models, describe the variability in the results.

Modeling guidelines

The following guidelines pertain to any mathematical model calculated for purposes other than statistical analysis. The authors must adequately describe both model structure and model analysis. Authors must explain and justify original equations and computer programs or justify the selection of a published software package used in the computation of models. The model structure and steps in the analysis must be described in Materials and Methods. Without presenting extensive computer code, the text must permit an understanding of the model that would allow most mathematically inclined scientists to duplicate the work. Present all equations that represent the biology of the system being modeled. Unless their derivation is self-evident, show how the equations were derived, and mention the underlying assumptions. Express how the equations are solved over time and space. Provide references for standard techniques (e.g., matrix manipulation, integration). Define all variables and parameters in each equation and describe their units (e.g., time, space, and mass). In Materials and Methods or Results, present the range of parameter values included in the model and describe the uncertainty in or range of these values' validity.

Equations

Consult Mathematics into Type for correct formatting of equations and mathematical variables. Italicize all mathematical variables. Center more complex equations on a separate line.

R = A barrtype + Blog 10 (f)         (2)

Validation or the testing of model results

The authors must state why the model did not require testing (e.g., theoretical study), why it cannot be tested (e.g., lack of data), or how it was tested. Data used for testing must be independent of data used to build or calibrate the model. Describe the data and procedures in Materials and Methods. Authors should be aware that the testing of models is an important step that should be a part of most studies.

Structure of computer code

For models solved or simulated by computers, mention the programming language and computer used. Describe the essential numerical methods used in calculating the model (e.g., integration and random number generation). Mention how the program's logic and algorithms were tested and verified. When published software is computed, provide a reference and state which procedures were used. Discuss in any section of the manuscript the limitations of the published software. Original computer programs should be made available at the request of reviewers and readers.

Gene sequencing

Inclusion of a GenBank or EMBL accession number for primary nucleotide and amino acid sequence data is a criterion for the acceptance of a manuscript for publication. Sequences from new species and new genes must indicate the proportion of the gene sequenced and should include data from both strands. The accession number may be included in the original manuscript, or the sequence may be provided for review and an accession number provided when the manuscript is revised. A manuscript will not be accepted for publication until the accession number is provided.

Reporting taxonomy

Follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th ed., for taxonomic style. Center the heading that indicates the name of the taxon in boldface. Center figure numbers in parentheses under the main heading; do not use boldface. Start all synonymies at the left margin with runovers indented. Include authors and the date. References must appear in the references section. Use a telegraphic style throughout descriptions.

Dates

Use Roman numerals I through XII to designate the month of collection. Use Arabic numerals 00 through 99 to designate collection years in the 20th century. Do not abbreviate other years, including the 21st century. Express data in this format: day-month (use a Roman numeral)-year. Example: 2-V-97.

Locality other than principal types

Start with the most significant area, followed by successively smaller areas separated by colons. Arrange data for each locality in the following order: count of specimens and sex or stage (as applicable), city or vicinity, date, collector, and depository. Example: MEXICO: Tamaulipas: 1 male, 1 female, Ciudad Mante, 15-III-97, K. Haack; 5 females, Ciudad Victoria, 3-VII-99, C. Hughes, MCZ. Arrange localities alphabetically. Use a semicolon to separate data for different localities. Define depositories in Materials and Methods.

Type material

Start a description with the primary type in capital letters. Follow this immediately with count and sex of specimens (use male and female symbols if possible), then place additional data in the order of locality, date, additional data, and collector. Separate these items with commas. Example: HOLOTYPE: 1 male, Locust Grove, VA, 22-X-98, on Cercis canadensis, R. H. Foote. PARATYPES: 2 males, same data.

Voucher specimens

Voucher specimens of arthropods serve as a future reference for published names used in scientific publications. Although the deposition of voucher specimens is not required as a condition for publication, authors are encouraged to deposit specimens in an established, permanent collection and to note in the published article that the expected deposition has been made and its location. The authors should contact the curator of a voucher repository before deposition concerning the procedures required for curation to ensure that the collection will accept the voucher materials. The designation and proper labeling of voucher specimens is the author's responsibility. When available, at least three specimens should be deposited. Each specimen should have the following information provided at the time of deposition:

• standard label data required for the specimens collection (i.e., locality, date of collection, collector, host, ecological data, whether the specimen is from a laboratory collection, etc.)
• an identification label that includes the identifier and date of identification
• a label that designates the specimen as a "voucher"