I have an issue that I’m not sure on a good solution. I am identifying Acronicta moths from a BioBlitz and I’m noticing almost 70% of the Acronicta moths have had their first feature images replaced by almost ALL caterpillars. In a lot of them the first 3-5 images are ALL caterpillars, with one moth image buried deep in the series.
I see the need for caterpillar images because this group has very cool and unusual caterpillars, but the lead image should be of the adult moth. Even for common species like Tent caterpillars or Wooly Bears. For the very distinctive caterpillars the caterpillar can be the #2 image right besides the adult. The AI is almost a slam dunk anyway for the most distinctive caterpillars so the “compare” tool is not even used. The huge issue is I am using “compare” to identify the very confusing and similar looking moths, and there are no adults to be seen as I scroll down the species options.
I ask why someone would spam the species images with similar pictures of the same caterpillar for that species, and completely ignore representing the adults? The adults are quite frequently encountered throughout the moth season. I have trudged through the Acronicta and replaced the lead image with an adult moth when I see it. I have kept a caterpillar image as #2. This way someone using “compare” can see both life stages.
I don’t know the rationale for someone removing one life history stage and replacing with a ton of the immatures, but there should be a “sticky” for the lead image that remains fixed. Let people modify 2-10 freely but I think the lead species image is important to have only mods/experts change.