Insects


A guide to Australian insect families (from CSIRO) can be found at:
http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/

Daley, A. & Ellingsen, K., 2012. Insects of Tasmania: An online field guide

A useful introduction to Insects, visit:
http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/documents/9362/invertebrate_guide.pdf

A diagram of Insect morphology illustrating terminology with legend of body parts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_morphology#/media/File:Insect_anatomy_diagram.svg

A diagram of an insect illustrating terminology based on a worker ant, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaster_(insect_anatomy)#/media/File:Scheme_ant_worker_anatomy-en.svg

Photographing insects

There are two main ways to photograph insects with a camera: using a macro close-up lens or a zoom lens. If the insect tolerates your getting very close, then you can use the macro lens. For example, some moths will remain quite still when approached, believing they are camouflaged and invisible. However, many insects, especially those that can fly, will move away when you approach. This is especially true for insects like butterflies and dragonflies. So a good zoom lens is very useful for photographing many insects. If you are using a smartphone, then use a macro lens or a macro attachment. E.g. OlloClip for iPhone. If you want to have an insect identified to species then clear photographs are usually needed because minute parts of the anatomy may need to be checked. It is valuable to take several photos from various angles so that these anatomical details can be seen. Many insects are have particular plants that they feed on, and they can be identified more easily when the associated plant is known. So if the insect is resting or feeding on a plant, take note of what the plant is or ensure that a photo shows the plant clearly.

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Discussion

CathB wrote:
3 hrs ago
Similar habitat too 😉

Labdia argophracta
DianneClarke wrote:
3 hrs ago
I saw that and was confused about what the differences are....

Labdia argophracta
WendyEM wrote:
5 hrs ago
Houston, we have a problem. An identical moth to this [ Sighting 4646084 ] has been IDed as Elachista flammula see https://bold-au.hobern.net/specimen.php?processid=ANICW1769-11 https://bold-au.hobern.net/specimens.php?taxid=326537 sadly there are aspects of both that don't quite fit with the 2 live specimen records. I need to do some more research on this.

Labdia argophracta
RogerF wrote:
7 hrs ago
Most Tettigonids insert their egg pods in the ground, a few insert their eggs into stems and a very few lay a string of unprotected eggs along stems and leaves, species unknown to me. Someone may know.

Tettigoniidae (family)
1,911,778 sightings of 21,500 species from 13,346 contributors
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