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.

Announcements

16 Mar 2025

Hello NatureMaprs!Three new priority species lists of exotic freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates, and vertebrates in the ACT have been added to NatureMapr. Uploading records of these species to N...


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Discussion

12 min ago
@ACTBioSecurity - Hi this is not on your priority list and has been recorded in the ACT before. ACT may in fact be part of its natural distribution but I am unsure about that. Nevertheless it is a high priority pest species of Victorian Agriculture so something you may want to investigate further. https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-insects-and-mites/priority-pest-insects-and-mites/olive-lace-bug

Froggattia olivinia
jb2602 wrote:
2 hrs ago
Thanks very much Ian and Don for identifying this little grey moth for me

Lichenaula onychotypa
ConBoekel wrote:
5 hrs ago
Thanks Jennybach. They are a group that keeps on giving, pictorially speaking.

Amorbus robustus
Jennybach wrote:
5 hrs ago
I recognise that glowing coal look from a sighting I ‘liked’ on the Higgins ACT grouping. Amorbus Genus, or very similar. Great pic.

Amorbus robustus
803,555 sightings of 21,782 species from 13,582 contributors
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