Ask the identifier. They will not leave an explanation every time they ID.
PS do help to ID for others - then you are free to explain each time you disagree.
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Yes, please ask if you do not understand the disagreement. I and a lot of other IDers love to explain if someone listens.. but in many cases nobody does and it is a waste of time to explain into the void.
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You just said sexing flies is easy. Can you provide a link to something so I know what to look for?
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oh cool. tag is better for grouping views indeed.
I started using this field for grouping whole organisms but yes tags give more grouping levels as u said - https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/using-the-field-similar-observation-set-for-linking-observations-of-lepidoptera-when-raising-on/1018
Very interesting, @jeremybarker Thanks for sharing!
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In my area there are not many iNatters (well, not many people in general) so I try to identify and annotate our observations. I open the Identify tab in the computer, and first I do a quick look to see if I can id any plant. Sometimes I annotate the plant phenology.
My animal pictures I try to annotate if they are dead or alive, and I also got used to add the observation field ‘Feeding on’ when possible, which allows me to add species from iNat, and helps to see which animals are attracted to which flowers/plants.
This is particularly fulfilling on a small flower patch I have planted, when taking a break from work I can go there and check on the little critters that are coming to my flowers. Some of them are regulars, I can see them almost every day. This year the Bombus were even sleeping on some flowers I planted! So cute. So I try to add the ‘feeding on’ field for those, so I remember to keep those flowers that attract more critters that I like.
For example, the Zinnias, I thought they were just some silly ornamental, but they feed a lot of insects so I will keep planting them.
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There’s a project for this: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/sleepy-bee-slumber-parties
(Were they males? This is often a male thing – females of non-cuckoo species generally have a nest where they spend the night.)
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Thanks for this, I have joined. Unfortunately it seems I haven’t taken any pictures of sleepy bees.
I am afraid I don’t know how to tell males from females, but they were Bombus and probably Bombus terrestris.
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Am I right in thinking that the only way to conduct a search using these annotations is to find an observation that has the annotation I want, then click on the annotation and follow the appropriate link (e.g., “Observations annotated with Life Stage: Larva”)? It would be really nice if they could be accessed using the “Filters” button when in search/identify mode, and I imagine a lot more people would make use of them if this were the case.
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Also: I just found an observation that shows a pupa which was mis-annotated as a larva (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/49641843), and I was able to click “disagree”, but how do I add an annotation of “pupa”?
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They can. Not in Explore, but the Identify module has an option to filter by annotations under “advanced filters”. (They can be accessed in Explore by manipulating the URL, either by finding the filters you want in Identify and deleting the “identify” bit from the URL, or by manually adding the bit of code for life stage etc. to the URL. There’s info on how to do so here: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-to-use-inaturalists-search-urls-wiki-part-1-of-2/63/)
It is currently only possible to disagree with annotations, but not to correct them or suggest an alternative. The best you can do is comment to the observer or annotator asking them to change it. There is an active feature request to make annotations work more like IDs, with a community consensus.
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Thanks. I normally access “identify” mode be clicking on “identify” within the “explore” module, but I now see that the “identify” link at the top of the page takes you to a different module with more options. Seems like the link from the explore module should take you to the same thing!
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https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/make-annotations-correctable-not-just-marked-disagree/34660
Under Review. Since August 2022. 110 votes. 1.6K views
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It does?
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What the heck… It didn’t a minute ago, I swear!
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Currently, if the Life Stage annotation is NOT set, and you add the Insect Life Stage observation field, it automatically sets the annotation to the same stage.
A few years back, I am pretty sure I could change the Life Stage annotation by first disagreeing with the current annotation ,and then adding the “Insect Life Stage” observation field with the correct life stage. The annotation would then be set to agree with the observation field. That doesn’t seem to work anymore.
As I mentioned before, when I curate data from iNat for inclusion in my database, my code uses the Insect Life Stage field to override the Life Stage Annotation. So when I come across an incorrect annotation, I disagree, and then add the field. Of course, it’s always possible that someone will change the field value after I’ve set it, but that probably isn’t going to happen very often, if at all. I would suggest that if anyone is going to use annotation data, they should have a backup plan like this for dealing with cases where it is incorrect.
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Thank you for this discussion! I really enjoy annotating, it’s a satisfying job for my mind, and I’m glad to know it’s useful. And the link to the shortcuts has made the whole process easier. Thanks!
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I’ve just gone through all the Vanellus observations in my Territory and I am surprised that people don’t annotate obvious chicks and eggs. It is frustrating that often there is a family photo and someone has annotated the adult because you can’t add a juvenile then. I do wish people would annotate the less common things first so that people can find them. Besides lapwing chicks are incredibly cute!
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When there’s a family photo, I always annotate the baby as a priority - is that best? I wish people would crop photos and separate female and male birds when it’s obvious!
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Welcome to the forum!
This is when observation fields and projects can help.
There are projects for multiple sexes and for multiple life stages.
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