I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that consists of 
gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the carapaces of aquatic
insects.  

I am interested in finding the source of these tiny plastic lables, and 
the technique for attaching them.  As I much prefer ennumerating small mammals 
with numbered metal earrings, this technique is pretty far afield for me, but 
something I recall from an seminar years ago.

What we intend to do is mark very small terrestrial snails in the range of 
5-10mm.  I can imagine that these sorts of lables might be glued to them rather 
easily with superglue, but perhaps there is something better for a glue and I 
have no idea where I could find such lables.

Alternative suggestions would certainly be appreciated.  To date, the only 
method that has been used is a system of dots of finger nail polish coded 
spatially and by color.  This leaves a LOT to be desired in my opinion.  Thus, 
my interest in numbered tags of some sort.

If anyone has a suggestion and/or source for such tags, I would very much 
appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks,
Brent Danielson
brent@iastate.edu

Dept. Animal Ecology
Iowa State University

>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that         >consists of gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the >carapaces of aquatic insects...


Hi

We used bee tags on small research scallops. I'm not sure if this
reference still works:

Christian Graze KG
Postfach 2707
7056 Weinstadt-Endersbach
FRG ((ask for Opalith-Zeichenplattchen mit Kleben (bee tags with glue)
@20.50 DM))

Its been some time since we used these and if this reference doesn't
work, look for bee tags else where. We used super glue to put on two
tags per scallop.


Cheers Lawrence
biodiver@auracom.com

In article <5j3m0a$256$1@news.iastate.edu>,  <brent@iastate.edu> wrote:
>
>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that consists of 
>gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the carapaces of aquatic
>insects.  

Those little tags are bee tags.  Superglue works fine.  (You can also
get superglue accelerator to make it dry *really* fast).  I haven't
used this address (and the reference is 7 years old... anyone with a
more recent address is encouraged to chip in here), but try:
  Christian Graze KG
  Postfach 2707
  7056 Weinstadt-Endersbach
  FRG
and ask for "Opalith-Zeichenplattchen mit Kleben" (bee tags with glue).

My source ("The Underwater Catalog: A guide to methods in underwater research"
published through the New York Sea Grant, highly recommended, just call
them up and ask if it's still available) also suggests wire markers, as used
for telephone cables (try an electrical supply store).  They suggest coating
them with superglue, fiberglass resin, or clear cement for protection.
-- 
Jonathan Dale  (jdale@bio.bu.edu)
"It had been good talking to his father's spirt.  When he had walked the Earth,
he had been a strange and distant man.  He had not changed much since he died."
                   ---_High Steel_, Jack C. Haldeman and Jack Dann

>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that
>consists of gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the
>carapaces of aquatic insects...


Hi

We used bee tags on small research scallops. I'm not sure if this
reference still works:

Christian Graze KG
Postfach 2707
7056 Weinstadt-Endersbach
FRG ((ask for Opalith-Zeichenplattchen mit Kleben (bee tags with glue)
@20.50 DM))

Its been some time since we used these and if this reference doesn't
work, look for bee tags else where. We used super glue to put on two
tags per scallop.


Cheers Lawrence
biodiver@auracom.com

Jonathan,
I don't know which reference on aquatic tagging you were mentioning, but I
suggest you look at my paper:

Freilich, J.E. 1989. A method for tagging individual benthic insects.
Journal of the North American Benthological Society 8 (4): 351-354.

I found that bee tags were not particularly useful on aquatic insects
because their shape was wrong. Besides, they are expensive and you don't
need them.

Best of luck with this,

______________________________
Jerry Freilich, Ph.D.
Director of Conservation Science
The Nature Conservancy
258 Main St., Suite 200
Lander, WY 82520
mailto:jfreilich@rmisp.com
Phone: 307-332-2971
FAX: 307-332-2974

In article <5j3m0a$256$1@news.iastate.edu>,  <brent@iastate.edu> wrote:
>
>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that consists of
>gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the carapaces of aquatic
>insects.

Those little tags are bee tags.  Superglue works fine.  (You can also
get superglue accelerator to make it dry *really* fast).  I haven't
used this address (and the reference is 7 years old... anyone with a
more recent address is encouraged to chip in here), but try:
  Christian Graze KG
  Postfach 2707
  7056 Weinstadt-Endersbach
  FRG
and ask for "Opalith-Zeichenplattchen mit Kleben" (bee tags with glue).

My source ("The Underwater Catalog: A guide to methods in underwater research"
published through the New York Sea Grant, highly recommended, just call
them up and ask if it's still available) also suggests wire markers, as used
for telephone cables (try an electrical supply store).  They suggest coating
them with superglue, fiberglass resin, or clear cement for protection.
--
Jonathan Dale  (jdale@bio.bu.edu)
"It had been good talking to his father's spirt.  When he had walked the Earth,
he had been a strange and distant man.  He had not changed much since he died."
                   ---_High Steel_, Jack C. Haldeman and Jack Dann

>I am interested in finding the source of these tiny plastic lables, and
>the technique for attaching them.
>
>What we intend to do is mark very small terrestrial snails in the range of
>5-10mm.  I can imagine that these sorts of lables might be glued to them rather
>easily with superglue, but perhaps there is something better for a glue and I
>have no idea where I could find such lables.
>
>Alternative suggestions would certainly be appreciated.  To date, the only
>method that has been used is a system of dots of finger nail polish coded
>spatially and by color.  This leaves a LOT to be desired in my opinion.  Thus,
>my interest in numbered tags of some sort.

When you asked this question before, several people posted the information
on where to obtain the "Opalithplattchen" for bees, which *are* the tags
you are referring to. They are about 3-4 mm long, convex, and come with
glue to apply them. The information, again, is
Christian Graze KG
Postfach 2707
7056 Weinstadt-Endersbach
FRG
and request  "Opalith-Zeichenplattchen mit Kleben".

If this isn't suitable, then you will have to either make the tags yourself
(this can be done by taking plastic labels from food and other products
that have numbers in tiny print on them and just cutting them out), or
else, yes, use nail polish or enamel paint. I spent six years marking
hundreds of sweat bees individually with 4 colors of enamel paint; it is
not impossible.

Good luck,

Doug Yanega    Depto. de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas,
Univ. Fed. de Minas Gerais, Cx.P. 486, 30.161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG   BRAZIL
phone: 031-448-1223, fax: 031-44-5481  (from U.S., prefix 011-55)
                  http://www.icb.ufmg.br/~dyanega/
  "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
        is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82

Thanks to everyone that sent me off line and on-line posts on marking methods. 
 I think bee tags will work perfectly so I'm aquiring a sample, but some of the 
other suggestions are interesting possibilities to follow up on should the bee 
tags not work out.  

Thanks also for the suggestions on glues, epoxies and scuba gear glue.  One or 
more of these will work I have no doubt.  

That leaves us with designing a sampling method.  Not an easy task for these 
critters, especially given their habitat requirements (algific slopes).

thanks again
Brent










In article <199704230436.AAA09330@atlanta.american.edu><ECOLOG-L@UMDD.UMD., 
brent@IASTATE.EDU writes:

>From: brent@IASTATE.EDU
>Organization: Iowa State University
>Subject: Marking Methods for Inverts
>Lines: 27
>Xref: news.iastate.edu sci.bio.ecology:28169
>
>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that consists of
>gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the carapaces of aquatic
>insects.
>
>I am interested in finding the source of these tiny plastic lables, and
>the technique for attaching them.  As I much prefer ennumerating small mammals
>with numbered metal earrings, this technique is pretty far afield for me, but
>something I recall from an seminar years ago.
>
>What we intend to do is mark very small terrestrial snails in the range of
>5-10mm.  I can imagine that these sorts of lables might be glued to them  rather
>easily with superglue, but perhaps there is something better for a glue and I
>have no idea where I could find such lables.
>
>Alternative suggestions would certainly be appreciated.  To date, the only
>method that has been used is a system of dots of finger nail polish coded
>spatially and by color.  This leaves a LOT to be desired in my opinion.  Thus,
>my interest in numbered tags of some sort.
>
>If anyone has a suggestion and/or source for such tags, I would very much
>appreciate hearing from you.
>
>Thanks,
>Brent Danielson
>brent@iastate.edu
>
>Dept. Animal Ecology
>Iowa State University

Ihave had some experience of this kind marking snails in a marine marsh.
We used minute paper labels written with a 00-Rapidograph pen with India
ink. We glued them to dried snails with a drop of epoxy resin with a
decent work time of about 10 minutes. We were able to retrieve the labels
for some years after marking, although many labels were lost to unknown
causes. We were able to mark snails down to about 4 mm.

WC Banta
wcbanta@american.edu
WC Banta - 
BantaWC@aol.com
wcbanta@american.edu

Thanks to everyone that sent me off line and on-line posts on marking methods.
 I think bee tags will work perfectly so I'm aquiring a sample, but some of the
other suggestions are interesting possibilities to follow up on should the bee
tags not work out.

Thanks also for the suggestions on glues, epoxies and scuba gear glue.  One or
more of these will work I have no doubt.

That leaves us with designing a sampling method.  Not an easy task for these
critters, especially given their habitat requirements (algific slopes).

thanks again
Brent










In article <199704230436.AAA09330@atlanta.american.edu><ECOLOG-L@UMDD.UMD.,
brent@IASTATE.EDU writes:

>From: brent@IASTATE.EDU
>Organization: Iowa State University
>Subject: Marking Methods for Inverts
>Lines: 27
>Xref: news.iastate.edu sci.bio.ecology:28169
>
>I have seen once, a methodology for marking invertebrates that consists of
>gluing tiny pieces of plastic with unique numbers to the carapaces of aquatic
>insects.
>
>I am interested in finding the source of these tiny plastic lables, and
>the technique for attaching them.  As I much prefer ennumerating small mammals
>with numbered metal earrings, this technique is pretty far afield for me, but
>something I recall from an seminar years ago.
>
>What we intend to do is mark very small terrestrial snails in the range of
>5-10mm.  I can imagine that these sorts of lables might be glued to them rather
>easily with superglue, but perhaps there is something better for a glue and I
>have no idea where I could find such lables.
>
>Alternative suggestions would certainly be appreciated.  To date, the only
>method that has been used is a system of dots of finger nail polish coded
>spatially and by color.  This leaves a LOT to be desired in my opinion.  Thus,
>my interest in numbered tags of some sort.
>
>If anyone has a suggestion and/or source for such tags, I would very much
>appreciate hearing from you.
>
>Thanks,
>Brent Danielson
>brent@iastate.edu
>
>Dept. Animal Ecology
>Iowa State University