Insects


A guide to Australian insect families (from CSIRO) can be found at:
http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/

Daley, A. & Ellingsen, K., 2012. Insects of Tasmania: An online field guide

A useful introduction to Insects, visit:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/documents/9362/invertebrate_guide.pdf

A diagram of Insect morphology illustrating terminology with legend of body parts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_morphology#/media/File:Insect_anatomy_diagram.svg

A diagram of an insect illustrating terminology based on a worker ant, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaster_(insect_anatomy)#/media/File:Scheme_ant_worker_anatomy-en.svg

Photographing insects

There are two main ways to photograph insects with a camera: using a macro close-up lens or a zoom lens. If the insect tolerates your getting very close, then you can use the macro lens. For example, some moths will remain quite still when approached, believing they are camouflaged and invisible. However, many insects, especially those that can fly, will move away when you approach. This is especially true for insects like butterflies and dragonflies. So a good zoom lens is very useful for photographing many insects. If you are using a smartphone, then use a macro lens or a macro attachment. E.g. OlloClip for iPhone. If you want to have an insect identified to species then clear photographs are usually needed because minute parts of the anatomy may need to be checked. It is valuable to take several photos from various angles so that these anatomical details can be seen. Many insects are have particular plants that they feed on, and they can be identified more easily when the associated plant is known. So if the insect is resting or feeding on a plant, take note of what the plant is or ensure that a photo shows the plant clearly.

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Discussion

DiBickers wrote:
29 min ago
@TimL incredible photos!!💙Ive Tagged @michael.batley to see if he might be able to help with Species-level, but I’ll Verify it to Genus-level for you now😊

Amegilla sp. (genus)
DiBickers wrote:
47 min ago
@JudeWright I have Verified this for you based on Michael’s ID in the Comments😊

Hylaeus (Planihylaeus) daviesiae
DiBickers wrote:
53 min ago
@SapphFire I have Verified this for you based on Michael’s ID in the Comments😊

Amphylaeus (Agogenohylaeus) obscuriceps
DiBickers wrote:
1 hr ago
@TimL the general appearance in addition to the hind leg appear to be a European Honey Bee😊

Apis mellifera
donhe wrote:
3 hrs ago
@
ChrisAllen : No prominent knob on the tail. Too many related species have no published photos of their larvae, so it could be any of those. I hope you can rear it to an adult moth to determine its ID.

Geometridae (family) IMMATURE
800,347 sightings of 21,611 species from 13,501 contributors
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