Parataxonomy is a system of labor division for use in biodiversity research, in which the rough sorting tasks of specimen collection, field identification, documentation and preservation are conducted by primarily local, less specialized individuals, thereby alleviating the workload for the "alpha" or "master" taxonomist.
[1] Parataxonomists generally work in the field, sorting collected samples into recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) based on easily recognized features.
the concepts of citizen science and parataxonomy are somewhat overlapping, with unclear distinctions between those employed to provide supplemental services to taxonomists and those who do so voluntarily, whether for personal enrichment or the altruistic desire to make substantive scientific contributions.
[citation needed] A "parataxonomist" is a term coined by Dr. Daniel Janzen and Dr. Winnie Hallwachs in the late 1980s[5][1] who used it to describe the role of assistants working at INBio in Costa Rica.
Information they collect includes date, location (lat/long), collector's name, the species of plant and caterpillar if known, and each specimen is assigned a unique voucher code.