African Journals OnLine
Insect Science and its Application
The International Journal of Tropical Insect Science

Instructions to authors…./ Instructions aux auteurs….

Insect Science and Its Application serves as a forum for original research findings on tropical insects and related arthropods, with special emphasis on their environmentally benign and sustainable management. The journal is published quarterly both in print format and on the worldwide web (http://www.bioline.org.br). The subject areas encompassed by the journal include tropical agricultural pests; stored product pests; forest entomology and wood product pests; disease vectors; host-insect relationships; biological control; plant resistance; social, beneficial and commercial arthropods; arthropod ecology and biodiversity; arthropod physiology, morphology, pathology, immunology and toxicology; arthropod taxonomy; population dynamics and genetics; arthropod molecular biology, biochemistry and biotechnology; behavioural and chemical ecology; economic entomology; pesticide resistance and pesticide residue studies; and social science and technology transfer. The journal’s expanded scope now includes biological diversity, ecology, systematics and environmental issues.

In addition to original research articles, the journal also publishes mini-review articles, short communications, book reviews, new patents, announcements and reports of meetings, and obituaries of prominent scientists. Regular issues of the journal usually contain a review article on a critical or rapidly developing area of tropical insect science and which is normally submitted at the invitation of the Editors. All manuscripts are reviewed by international authorities prior to publication; however, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right of final decision.

While the journal is hosted by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), under the aegis of the The African Association of Insect Scientists Insect Science and Its Application pursues its own independent editorial policy.

Authorship

The responsibilities of the senior author when submitting a paper to Insect Science and Its Application  are to ensure that the work has not been previously published, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere and has been approved for submission by all its authors and the institution(s) in which the work was conducted. If the paper is accepted for publication, all authors will transfer copyright of their article to the publisher, after which the publication becomes the property of the journal. It is normally the responsibility of the author(s) to obtain copyright permission to reproduce tables or figures first published elsewhere, and to ensure the correctness of all references. The senior author should also obtain explicit permission (preferably in writing) to use unpublished material cited as a ‘personal communication’ in the paper.

• Voucher specimens. Voucher specimens of arthropods serve as 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 designation and proper labelling of voucher specimens is the author’s responsibility,  and authors should contact the curator of a voucher repository before deposition concerning the procedures required for curation.

Manuscript Preparation

Papers are published in English or French with abstracts in both languages. Authors are advised to consult an expert in these languages, especially if they are not fluent in either tongue.

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the following guidelines.

• The title page should include the article title and the full name(s) and address(es) of all authors, clearly indicating the author to whom correspondence should be addressed. The fax, telephone and e-mail contact of the corresponding author should also be provided. A running title of maximum of 50 characters should be indicated.
• An abstract of 250 words or less in both English and French, to include a brief statement of the objective of the study, the methodology used and the overall conclusions and results.
• Key Words and Mots Clés. List a maximum of 10 key subjects covered in the paper and including the scientific names of the major organisms studied, and any important chemical compounds.
• Main text. This should be divided into an Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Acknowledgements. Results and Discussion may be combined.
• Data treatment. Means should be reported in the same, or not more than one extra, number of digits as the original individual values. A measure of variability (standard deviation or standard error) should always be presented along with mean values in tabular or graphical forms. When the expression X ± A is used, always indicate whether A is variance, standard deviation or standard error. It is essential to indicate the sample size or number of replications in tables of means, correlations and other statistical tests results. Whenever the value of a test statistic (e.g. F, T or Chi-square) is presented, the associated degrees of freedom and probability value should be indicated. Estimates of models parameters (e.g. regression slope) should be accompanied by their standard error values. Mathematical expressions should be carefully written, algebraic symbols should be in italics, while suffixes and operators (e.g. f(x), log, exp) should be in roman type. If there are many equations, each should be identified by a number in parentheses, flush to the right. Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) is not acceptable for separation of means. If necessary, consult a qualified biometrician for adequate analysis of your data. References for the method used should be included under Materials and Methods.
• Referencing in text. Throughout the main body of the text, the Harvard (author, date) referencing format must be followed. For guidelines see below.
  
  Single author: “It was reported by Harris (1962) that…” or “Crop losses due to the millet stemborer… (Harris, 1962)”.
  
  Two authors: “Singh and Saxena (1994) reported significant differences in the resistance scores of…” or “Significant differences in the resistance scores of… (Singh and Saxena, 1994)”.
  
  Three or more authors: “Youm et al. (1995a) assessed the efficacy of…”. (Use the letters a, b, c,… to distinguish among papers by the same author(s) in the same year).
  
  Personal communications: “J. Darlington (Pers. commun.) indicated that…”. (Include first initial of source).
  
  In press: “Delobel (1996, in press) has observed that…”.
  
  Note that ‘in press’ is used only if the paper has been accepted for publication.
  

• Reference list. Only articles that have been published or are ‘in press’ should be included. List references in alphabetical order. Journal names must be abbreviated as in the World List of Scientific Periodicals (4th ed.).
  
  Journal articles: Delobel A. G. L. (1983) Influence of temperature and host plant condition on preimaginal development and survival in the sorghum shootfly, Atherigona soccatta. Insect Sci. Applic. 4, 327–335.
  
  In   press: Omoogun G. A. (1994) Design and construction of the Nitse trap. Insect Sci. Applic. (In press). (The title  of  the  journal/book  must be stated in the reference list as well as the expected year of publication).
  
  Books: Mengech A. N., Saxena K. N. and Gopalan H. N. B. (Eds) (1995) Integrated Pest Management in the Tropics: Current Status and Future Prospects. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, New York, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore. 172 pp. (Include the publisher’s name, city of publication and page numbers).
  
  Proceedings: Feldmann U. (1994) Some quality control parameters used in the rearing of tsetse flies, pp. 13–29. In Techniques of Insect Rearing for the Development of Integrated Pest and Vector Management Strategies Vol. 1. Proceedings of an International Group Training Course on Development of Integrated Pest and Vector Management Strategies. 16 March–3 April 1992, ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya (Edited by J. P. R. Ochieng’-Odero), ICIPE Science Press, Nairobi. (Include the sponsor of the conference, dates, city and publisher of the proceedings).

• All measurements must be stated in SI units.
• Nomenclature. All organisms studied should be identified by their Latin names, with taxonomic affiliation and authority indicated at first mention in the abstract and text. Common names should be stated where appropriate (consult the Entomological Society of America’s list). Chemical substances should be described by their generic or common names and defined at least once in the paper by their IUPAC name. For editorial guidelines, consult a recent issue of the journal, or the CBE Style Manual, Council of Biology Editors, Inc. 6th Edition, 1994.

Manuscript Submission

1. Papers submitted for publication should be typed in double spacing (including abstracts, tables and figure legends) with margins of 3 cm on right and left sides and printed in a legible font, e.g. Times. All pages of the manuscript should be numbered, and tables and figures should be typed or drawn on separate sheets of paper to follow the references, and not interspersed within the text.

2. Manuscripts should be prepared on a computer wherever possible. Authors are requested to maintain a back-up copy in case revision is necessary.

3. Figures and illustrations should be submitted in triplicate. Computer-drawn figures printed on a laser (not a dot matrix) printer are acceptable. Alternatively, figures may be professionally drawn on white board or tracing paper. In either case, authors are requested to also provide the original data from which the figure was generated.  Good quality photocopies of original photographs are sufficient until the manuscript has been accepted, after which authors will be asked to provide the originals. Glossy, unmounted photographs, preferably in black and white,  are required. Illustrations should not be larger than 15 x 24 cm, and the point size of the labels and legends should not be smaller than 10 points such that any text or labels are legible on reduction. The magnification should be stated. The figure legends should be typed on a separate piece of paper and should contain enough information to make the figure self-explanatory without reference to the text. Authors are requested to write the figure number and their name on the back of each illustration/photograph.

4. Tables should be numbered consecutively and typed in double-spacing and included at the end of the paper. Table titles should be self-explanatory without reference to the text. Non-standard units of measurement should be defined in the footnotes to the tables (See guidelines for reporting statistical data, above) and at first mention in the text.

5. Proofs. The page proofs and original edited manuscript will be returned to the corresponding author for approval and minor correction. To avoid delays in publication, the proofs and manuscript must be returned as soon as possible, by registered airmail or courier/express service, where this is more reliable.

6. Reprints and page charges. Insect Science and Its Application provides 25 free reprints without covers to the primary author. It is the author’s responsibility to update the journal on change of address, as claims for non-receipt of reprints can only be honoured if your address is current. Rates for ordering additional copies of the reprints are provided with notification of acceptance. There are no page charges, but authors may be surcharged for excessively long papers (>24 manuscript pages).

7. Send your manuscript as three (3) hard copies and diskette by registered airmail, courier service or via e-mail to:

The Editor-in-Chief
Insect Science and Its Application
P.O. Box 72913, Nairobi, Kenya
Fax: +254-2-803360/860110
e-mail: [email protected]

Short Communications

These follow a similar format as for research articles, but are useful for reporting preliminary or shorter studies. Short Communications seldom exceed 12 typed double-spaced pages in length.

AUTHOR CHECKLIST

It is strongly recommended that authors submitting manuscripts for publication should make a copy of this checklist and submit it with their manuscripts to the Chief Editor. This will ensure that their MS is in the correct format and should make for more rapid processing and publication.

GENERAL

Original and two exact copies of double-spaced MS sent, one copy kept. 

Pages numbered throughout                                                              

Separate pages for references, tables and figure legends (all double spaced).                                                                                      

Name and address for correspondence clearly indicated                                      

MS despatched in strong envelope                                                              

Computer diskette 3.5, preferably MS Word or WordPerfect (to be sent with revised MS)                                                                                      

TEXT

Cover page (p. 1) with: (a) Title; (b) full postal address; and (c) running title at foot                                                                                       

Abstract (including authors and title) and index key words on separate page (p. 2)                                                                                      

Abstract submitted in both English and French.                         

Citation of references in text conforms to specifications in Instructions to Authors.                                                                         

Joint authors quoted as Macharia and Mueke; i.e. not Macharia & Mueke. 

References in text and in reference list correspond exactly.             

Journal titles given in standard abbreviations and underlined (or in italics)                                                                                      

First and last pages of references quoted                                     

Manuscripts with paper clips, not stapled                                     

Measurements in metric system                                                 

FIGURES

Size of Figures conforms to specifications in Instructions to Authors 

All magnifications indicated by scale bars, not in the legends                          

Author's name and Figure number on back of all figures                                      

Legends for Figures on separate pages                                                  

Abbreviations for Figures fully listed and explained                                      

I have checked that the submitted manuscript conforms with the format

outlined above                                                                          

                                             ...........................

                                             (Author)

                                             ...........................   

                                             (Date of Despatch)