Authors: Lovei, Gabor; Ferrante, Marco;Moeller, Daniella;Moeller, Gabriella;

Arthropods are in decline, and several species are threatened. We surveyed the methods used in the two journals devoted to arthropod conservation (Insect Conservation and Diversity, ICD, Journal of Insect Conservation, JIC). Out of the 244 primary papers published in 2014-2018 by ICD, 161 employed lethal methods, and 80 (33.2%) non-destructive ones. When the focus of study was a single species, 57.4% of the papers used non-lethal study methods, while only 24.9% did so when multiple species were studied. In non-tropical regions, 37.0 % of studies used non-lethal methods, while only 13.2% did so in tropical studies. Of the 451 articles published by JIC, 51.2% used lethal methods, and 45.2% non-lethal ones. When studying more than a single species, 66.1% used lethal methods, while with single species focus, 25.9% (44/170) did so. Fourty-four % (154/349) of the 349 articles from non-tropical areas, vs. 77.3% (75/97) of the 97 articles from tropical areas used lethal methods. We contend that even if the damage done is negligible, using lethal methods when pursuing research aimed at conserving arthropods puts entomologists in an ethically undefensible position. Non-lethal methods should be used whenever possible.