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

AlisonMilton wrote:
1 hr ago
@DiBickers Saw them in Tassie last year and in New Zealand.

Bombus terrestris
donhe wrote:
1 hr ago
@danswell : can you rear it in captivity to get an adult moth to determine the species ?

Entometa (genus)
DiBickers wrote:
1 hr ago
Thanks so much @MichaelMulvaney 😊

Halticorcus platycerii
DiBickers wrote:
2 hrs ago
@TimL happy to help😊

Austrogorytes bellicosus
TimL wrote:
3 hrs ago
@DiBickers thanks for the identification, Di and Michael. Tim

Austrogorytes bellicosus
826,166 sightings of 21,587 species from 13,421 contributors
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