I’ve had some folks asking me about resources for insects that aren’t listed in the Curator Guide, so thought I would shamelessly take @bobby23 ’s journal post and move it here to the Curators section on the forum. This is a wiki, so anyone can add to it, and hopefully it’s more easily findable here …

@bouteloua If I want to add a new regional approved source, would I first run it though iNat staff for approval?

I would flag the taxon first, iNat would want to see some community buy in.

brian_d: I’d recommend iNat add authorities/dates to species taxon-pages at some time too, if feasible. The site has previously determined it will not do this. It is not a taxonomic resource, and the data is easy to access in many other places.

brian_d: I’d recommend iNat add authorities/dates to species taxon-pages at some time too, if feasible. Hi @brian_d, the open feature request for that is listed here: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/include-author-citations-for-taxa/671

I really question if inat should be considered as or consider taking on a role as a taxonomic reference. It doesn’t really align with the site objectives. Especially given the site focus on all areas of life. Larger sites with professional and or paid employees are struggling with a role of a globa…

The World Odonata List link is no longer working; is this the new, correct, link? https://www2.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/slater-museum/biodiversity-resources/dragonflies/world-odonata-list2/

I’m still not clear what the end purpose of trying to make the site more of a taxonomy reference will serve. Professional taxonomists/biologists etc are not going to be using iNat as a reference. Amateur field naturalists don’t need it for the purposes they are using the site for. It just seems lik…

(re-opened at the request of @michaelpirrello )

speciesfile.org sites now say " All old/original SpeciesFile websites have transitioned to read-only status as of 14 August 2023." so further edits to this list will probably be required.

For clarification @bouteloua @tiwane , the resources listed under “Other insect orders with complete sources” and “Other orders with partial sources” currently lack official standing as taxonomic authorities, correct? As such, would the best way to get them implemented be to create a flag for the cov…

Taxonomic resources for insects - wiki

Curators

sjl197 January 9, 2026, 12:07pm 25

I’ve restructured for Fulgoromorpha to prioritise WAD, the FLOW database is currently inactive for updates

Topic		Replies	Views
Please subdivide Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths) and create a sub order Lepidoptera (Moths only) General	32	4268	September 14, 2020
Lepidoptera Taxonomy & Nomenclature - what reference? Curators question	2	335	September 2, 2025
Accessing iNat's taxonomic tree for all terrestrial arthropods? General question	10	583	January 6, 2022
How many Arthropods are on iNaturalist as of now? General	28	1064	March 18, 2026
Needed: more people to help ID moths and other insects Nature Talk	40	4166	June 17, 2020

Taxonomic resources for insects - wiki

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