The top middle (b) and the top right (c) (both “forma succinea”) are probably the most frequent patterns you will see, so if you memorise that spot-pattern on each elytron (I think of it as “pentagon, line of three, single dot”), you can filter out the majority of Harlequin ladybirds from your ladybird observations.
That being said, I don’t know whether there are any species with a similar appearance and dot pattern where you live.
(In Germany, most mixups usually happen between black colour morphs of Adalia bipunctata and H. axyridis f. conspicua, the other forms don’t have any species all that similar to them)
Wow, I’ve done 24 of them (mostly birds). I was expecting under 10. When I first started posting to iNaturalist, if seek told me there was more than 100 seen nearby I wouldn’t post it. So much for that idea .
House finches, Northern cardinals, and American goldfinches are super-abundant in my area - they’re among the most common feeder birds. But I would love to see the European robins, Common chaffinches, and Great tits that are common in your area! Especially your robins, which apparently are not closely related to our American robins, being in different families entirely.
On topic, it looks as though I’m missing about 14. Some are not going to make the list unless I have a chance to travel again. Oh well; there are plenty of things that aren’t in the top 50 that I haven’t observed, either. I’m okay with filling in local gaps.
My one missing European observation is a Hooded Crow which I thought I’d seen, but which is now looking like I’ve seen a cross between that and a Carrion Crow. I guess the overall lesson is that I need to travel further afield though.
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