Announcing a new section: Provisional identification keys

Abstract

Accurate species identification is essential for research, monitoring, human andanimal health, agriculture, and conservation, yet it is often hindered by outdated or inaccessibleidentification keys and a limited number of trained taxonomists. Many experts maintainprovisional keys that are actively used for identification but remain unpublished becausethese are not part of a taxonomic revision, lack illustrations, are incomplete, or are simply notsufficient to merit a stand-alone, peer-reviewed publication. To enable access to such keys, theJournal of Melittology introduces a new section, Provisional Identification Keys, dedicated tothe dissemination of draft, preliminary, or provisional keys for bees. These contributions will beavailable online as clearly labeled working resources to facilitate identification, preserve expertknowledge, support training, facilitate and encourage collaborations and complement, ratherthan replace, formal, peer-reviewed taxonomic revisions. We will further clarify the nature ofthe complementarity in this introductory article.