Hi all, As part of a school assignment, I need to ID a bunch of insects that I’ve photographed down to family, and I have a bunch of specific questions about identification in general such as: “Can snakefly larvae be keyed down to family, or only adults?” “Where can I find keys that are free, pub…

When I was in school, I was a nature nerd. I owned several field guides for various groups of plants and animals. Your school or local library, I hope, would have books like that. I’d recommend that’s where to start–since those books are written specifically to help people with your goal. Scientifi…

You could also pop a question into the comments of your observation? Someone who can have a stab at (say) identifying a snakefly larva will probably the sort of person who can answer them :) That would be my suggestion

Those conversations on a particular obs are probably the best way to learn. Taxon specialists - if they can see - from your response to their IDs or comments - that you are interested and responsive will often reply with useful info. You need to see … for this. Link to my journal post about those. …

Here for example the info from the taxon specialist - is with an obs with a good clear picture. All useful to future observers and identifiers across iNat. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/18140713 (I am digging back down thru Cape Peninsula Needs ID at Order, for the few I can nudge along…

If you’re a student, go talk to the librarians at your school library. Either the library will have the kind of information you’re looking for or the librarians will, very likely, know how to find the info for you. You can also go talk to teachers at your school (other than the one making the assi…

I think your example questions are good, and some may already exist or fit into an existing topic on the forum. I would do a search before you start a new topic for them. I know some similar questions have popped up in the IdentiFriday thread, for example (looong thread). Note: If a forum thread you…

Bugguide.net is often a good source for this kind of information. Go the the page for your taxon of interest and look at the Info and Books tabs. The Info tab will often have tips on identification and the Books tab may have links to specific keys or taxonomic papers.

What ID related questions are appropriate for the forums?

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What ID related questions are appropriate for the forums?

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