Newby observation of id behavior (based on small sample and may be mad). Butterfly observations seem to attract ID almost at once while plants take longer, if attract ID at all.

It’s true that some taxa get IDs faster. I don’t think it’s so much charisma. Plants are very easy to add and observe and for whatever reason get less IDs compared with number observed.

It also partially depends on where you are, for example there are more iNat participants from North America than elsewhere, so observations from there tend to have more eyes who are familiar with the species. It is great that you’ve joined the site, and welcome, but some of it is also timing, you j…

Thanks for the feedback. Fair enough.

Birders are a big component of iNat users, which is why you’ll get bird IDs almost immediately. (I often have RG ID’s on birds by the time iNat loads my observation list after submission. They’re that dedicated.) Butterfly and dragonfly fans are usually close behind; it’s true that the more “attract…

I think that’s true just based on what gets hobbyist interest - bird-watching and insect collection have long had a hobbyist following while I think plant ID is often more restricted to those with professional qualifications. Also, you tend to be able to visually ID birds/butterflies instinctively, …

Some groups are more “mainstream” than others. Almost everyone knows what a monarch is, but who knows what a yellow spindle or wall screw-moss is? There is a good reason why birds tend to get identified so quickly, because more people know them.

Some taxa have a few insanely dedicated ID-ers who more or less keep pace with the supply. I am usually pretty good on keeping up with the ID-ing on marine mollusks from the geographical areas where I know the marine mollusk fauna well (Europe, the Caribbean, and the West Coast of North America). H…

I have encountered this myself, when I am doing ID work in Orchidaceae (which I do a lot) I sometimes have to stop myself from clicking on the brightly colored blooming specimens and actually spend some time trying to ID some of the small, out of bloom observations.

I think the other part of the challenge is that a flowering plant that is not flowering is much harder to identify (to your point, @afid ) using most field guides or other available tools, so even if someone does upload observations of flower-bare plants, the chances are good that there is less int…

It’s true that my bird observations often get multiple IDs within a few minutes of submission while my plant observations often take a few days to be ID’d. This is just the way it is, I’m afraid. I try not to get too obsessed with my observations being identified right away.

Charisma aids identification?

General

mira_l_b May 1, 2019, 2:00pm 16

FYI,all:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photo-taking-recommendations-by-taxon/1962/9

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Charisma aids identification?

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