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...


Continue reading

NatureMapr now receives more records in NSW than ACT

NatureMapr Data Collector 6.2.1 update

Critical nature positive infrastructure update

IMPORTANT NatureMapr Data Collector 6.2.0 mobile app update

Discussion

RodDeb wrote:
5 hrs ago
@DiBickers totally agree, nature is amazing :)

Psychodidae sp. (family)
5 hrs ago
Laesa leaf beetle?

Paropsisterna m-fuscum
donhe wrote:
Yesterday
undescribed (and unillustrated) Technitis sp ?

Tortricidae (family)
donhe wrote:
Yesterday
@clarehoneydove : it would be really good if you could rear this one to an adult moth for an ID.

Lymantriinae (subfamily)
donhe wrote:
Yesterday
I think the 2 dorsal organs on the penultimate pair of segments indicate Lymantriinae, but it does not look like any of the 25 published photos of larvae species in that subfamily , so probably one of the other 50 or so species with no published larval photos.

Lymantriinae (subfamily)
803,690 sightings of 21,786 species from 13,584 contributors
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.