Information for Authors

Scope and mission.
AWPL is dedicated to publishing quality research on lepidopterology in the Western Palearctic region, covering a broad spectrum of topics including taxonomy, systematics, ecology, biodiversity, biogeography and phylogenetics. We welcome original research articles, taxonomic revisions, short notes, and review papers that contribute to the advancement of entomological science.

Open Access, copyright, and Licensing Policy.
We believe that scientific knowledge should be freely accessible to all. Our journal follows an open-access model, ensuring that all published content is available without embargoes or paywalls. There are no article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees, making publication fully accessible to researchers worldwide.
Authors retain the copyright of their work without restrictions. By publishing in Archives of Western Palearctic Lepidoptera (AWPL), authors grant the journal the right to distribute their work under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Peer Review Process.
AWPL employs an open peer review system, where reviewers disclose their identities to promote transparency, accountability, and constructive feedback. Manuscripts undergo rigorous evaluation by experts in the field to ensure scientific accuracy, clarity, and relevance.
While all contributions undergo peer review, authors remain solely responsible for their content, which does not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.

Manuscript Types.
We accept the following types of manuscripts:
Original Research Articles, presenting new findings in lepidopterology.
Taxonomic papers, describing ESUs, new subspecies, species, genera, or other taxonomic revisions.
Short notes, reporting briefly new findings.
Review articles, summarizing and analyzing existing research in key lepidopterological topics.

Nomenclatural and Archiving Requirements.
Taxonomic papers that include nomenclatural acts and/or new species names must comply with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 2012).
Such papers are registered in ZooBank to ensure validity under zoological nomenclature.
The Checklist (doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14733224) serves as the base of the nomenclature used in papers published in AWPL.
The journal is archived in Zenodo, an open-access repository developed by CERN, ensuring long-term preservation and accessibility.

Manuscript Preparation and Submission.
Manuscripts should be written in English with clear and concise scientific language.
Authors must follow the journal’s formatting guidelines regarding structure, references, figures, and tables.
If an author wishes to deviate from a recommendation, a compelling justification must be provided.
Upon acceptance, manuscripts are placed on a fast-track for expedited publication.

Ethical Standards.
The journal adheres to high ethical publishing standards, discouraging plagiarism, redundant publication, and data fabrication.
Authorship in submitted works should reflect substantial contributions and follow good ethical practice. AWPL supports and aligns with ICMJE and COPE authorship guidelines as a standard of responsible research publication.
Authors are expected to provide full disclosure of conflicts of interest and obtain appropriate permissions for data, images, and specimens.

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in Archives of the Western Palearctic Lepidoptera is limited to linguistic editing and translation, shall not extend to data generation or analysis, taxonomic decisions, or the preparation of descriptions, diagnoses, identification keys, or conclusions. AI systems may not be credited as authors, and any permitted use must be explicitly declared, with authors bearing sole responsibility for all content.

Support and Contact.
For detailed author guidelines, manuscript templates, and submission procedures, please refer to the journal’s formatting guidelines on our website.
For additional inquiries, contact the editorial team

Editorial Board.
The Archives of Western Palearctic Lepidoptera is managed by an editorial board with expertise in Lepidoptera taxonomy, ecology, and systematics.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Editorial Team.
The co-editors and production editor assist the Editors-in-Chief in ensuring the quality, accuracy, and smooth processing of manuscripts. Their responsibilities include peer-review coordination, editorial decision support, nomenclatural and archiving compliance, manuscript preparation, and author communication.
For a detailed description of the tasks of co-editors, please see the Co-Editor document.

Looking forward to your research, manuscripts, comments, and suggestions, Michel Taymans and Sylvain Cuvelier.