How to Respond to an Identification Request Online

Last week I posted a "how to" article on making identification requests online. I think it is only fair to suggest how to appropriately respond to identification requests. There is much needless redundancy on threads aimed at helping someone identify a given organism. Here are some ways to avoid that, as well as saving yourself time, embarrassment and/or criticism. Actually, the best default option is often to not respond at all. So, let's start there:

Do not respond to an identification request unless....

• You know what you are talking about. There are plenty of knowledgeable amateur naturalists, Master Naturalists, and citizen scientists, as well as professional scientists, online who can help make identifications. If you do not consider yourself in one of those categories, it may be best to refrain from commenting. That way, there is no need for someone else to correct you down the line. That said, you can be a professional and still be incorrect, but at least you'll be in the ballpark.
• You have read all of the previous comments! Most redundancy in threads comes from people eager to comment who do not realize the correct answer has already been given. Facebook does not make that easy, because a long thread leads to hidden comments and generates a header that reads something like "view previous [insert random number here] comments."
• You have something truly worthwhile to add to the conversation. Anecdotal observations can be genuinely helpful, and also create a sense of community in an online group. Post away. Comments like "Burn it with fire!" or "Eew, gross!" only reveal ignorance and intolerance. Use good judgment, and understand when to deploy a filter for your "hostile voice."

Ok, what else can we do, or not do, to make an identification request more efficient and productive? Here are some ideas....

• Do *not* post another image *within* an existing thread. The addition of more images within a thread, unless the images are of the same specimen, by the same person who started the thread, creates great confusion. The internet as a whole is not always the best source of anything, let alone correctly-labeled images, even if the Google search results say so. If you want to post your own images, start a new thread.
• Include links to resources that back up your answer. There is no such thing as too much information, and most people asking for the identification of an organism know nothing about it. So, providing a link that sheds light on the life cycle, biology, and ecology of the creature is usually received warmly.
• Learn who the other players are. If you doubt the credentials of someone else making comments, look them up and see whether your (low) opinion has any basis in fact. You might find that the person is a college professor, curator at a museum, author of a book, or otherwise has vast knowledge of the subject at hand.
• Do NOT argue with others. This is why I just suggested you get to know the other players, and find out who you can trust. Word your different opinion gently ("I think it is this rather than that, because of this characteristic, behavior, etc"). That way you are being respectful, and giving more insight, too.

I may or may not have covered everything here, so please comment with your own suggestions, including what I should have omitted. I may well revise this post accordingly.

How to Request an Identification Online

I am arguably a member of way too many groups on Facebook, but it appears that social media groups are now the place to go if you want an identification of that "thing" crawling across the kitchen floor, eating your tomatoes, biting your child, or otherwise causing consternation or curiosity. Here, then, is how to make a post and get an accurate answer. This primer also applies to any other online outlet for getting identifications.

• Include an image.

You don't have to be a professional photographer. These days you can snap a quick pic with your smartphone and upload it instantly. It doesn't even have to be perfectly focused. Crop it if you can, so that there is as much detail as possible, before posting it.

• Choose an appropriate group to post to.

So you are pretty sure it is a spider. Find a group that specializes on those arachnids. There are also lots of "bugs" groups that encompass just about anything without a backbone. There are garden groups where people often post images of suspected pests, but often it is the blind leading the blind and you may not get anywhere near the truth despite other members' good intentions.

• ALWAYS INCLUDE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION.

I have seen many times someone from another country post an image and everyone responding assumes it is a species from the U.S. It works the other direction, too. Save responding parties time, energy, and embarrassment by posting the location where your image was taken or the creature was seen. Be as specific as you are comfortable with, but at minimum include nation, state or province, and county or district.

• Include a size estimate.

Use coins or currency, keys, or cigarette lighters in an image to demonstrate scale, it often helps; or estimate, preferably in millimeters. Disregard sarcastic remarks about spiders making off with your cash, stealing your car keys, or setting fires with those lighters. A detailed description in general can also suffice in the absence of an image.

• Be polite, not demanding.

Common courtesy goes a long way to endearing you to experts. Say "please" and "thank you." Be understanding that the people responding may be volunteering their time to assist you. Many professional entomologists in fact face reprimands from superiors for "wasting their time" on "trivial matters," despite the fact that job descriptions often cite "public outreach" as a priority.

• Do not assume the *first* answer is the *right* answer.

Many members of various online groups are amateurs themselves, and the learning curve is steep in making identifications. Most real experts are also specialists, so they may not be able to identify every post in a given group. Their expertise may be limited to bees, for example. Wait for several replies, and do a little homework on each answer to see whether it fits or not. Remember that everyone could still be wrong!

Do share your "mystery bugs" with us through social media, photo-sharing websites, and other online outlets like Project Noah or i-Naturalist. We enjoy seeing your discoveries, and often enough they are valuable sightings. Take care and good luck!

Identification Expectations

Several factors have conspired to create a perfect storm of unrealistic expectations when it comes to insect identification these days. The digital age has meant that entomologists are more accessible to the general public than ever before; that it is possible to capture a stunning image with a smartphone; and that social media has accelerated the broadcast of incorrect information. Naturalists who are branching out from the pursuit of vertebrates seem stunned to learn that not every insect or spider can be identified to species from visuals alone. Here are the top reasons why you may fail to achieve a species-level identification from myself, or any other entomologist or arachnologist online.

You have not supplied an image. Few insects are so distinctive that a verbal or written description alone is sufficient to make an identification. The Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus is one exception that comes to mind.

Wheel Bug adult

The image is of exceedingly poor quality. Many insects and spiders are simply too small, and/or move too fast to allow you to capture a clear image. That is not your fault, you are doing the best you can. However, standing across the room and taking a picture of the spider on the opposite wall is your choice, and the image results won’t be pretty. I often kid people that they must have used Google Earth for the image in order to maintain a safe distance.

You did not furnish location information. The geographic location where the arthropod was spotted can be of paramount importance in eliminating some “suspects” and narrowing the possibilities of what the creature could be. The more precise the location the better, as even a state or province may not be of much help.

Your insect is in an immature stage. Many immature stages such as eggs, larvae (caterpillars, grubs, maggots, etc.), nymphs, and pupae simply cannot be identified much beyond a family-level of classification. In many cases, we simply don’t know what a species looks like in its youth, unless it is something of economic importance. Try rearing the insect to adulthood if possible, documenting the different stages. You could easily make important discoveries this way.

Yeah, I got nothin'

You don’t know the host plant (for an herbivorous insect). Many insects are best identified by association with a particular plant, but perhaps you found your specimen on a fencepost, or it landed on a plant that it does not feed on. These are circumstances over which you obviously have no control, but it may mean you won’t get a specific ID this time around.

Overestimating size. Insects and spiders are very good at creating the illusion that they are much larger than they appear. People prone to arachnophobia or entomophobia then inflate the size even more until you have the bug equivalent of a fish story. When in doubt, don’t even bother mentioning size.

Many species look alike. You would be amazed how many insects, even from different families, can look essentially identical. Add to that the amazing degrees of mimicry whereby harmless insects resemble stinging insects, and it becomes a real challenge for the novice to achieve an identification even to an “order” level of classification.

Bumble Bee

Not bumble bee (robber fly)

Visuals alone may be insufficient. This problem arose for myself last week when I sought the identification of a jewel beetle in the family Buprestidae. Turns out there are several species in the genus Agrilus that feed on oak, and are slate gray with a metallic head and thorax. Who knew?

Cryptic species. It is not just the digital age that has revolutionized our expectations for identification. The age of molecular biology, with DNA analysis, has revealed that what we once thought was a single species may in fact be several species, all of which are visually identical, but are vastly different at the genetic level. Consequently, “species groups” have entered our vocabulary.

Photuris sp. fireflies are best identified by the flash patterns they blink at night

Taxonomy changes frequently. Entomologists are constantly revising the classification of insects, from species-level to order level as they gain new insights into phylogenetic relationships. Did you know, for example, that cockroaches and termites are now in the same order? It’s true! Not because they can both be pests, but because we now know they are more closely related than previously thought. So, the identification you get today may not stand up to the test of time.

Proliferation of field guides. More field guides is never a bad thing, but people accustomed to bird, mammal, and reptile guides that include every species for a given geographical area has created an unrealistic expectation of the same when it comes to invertebrates. It would take an encyclopedia of several volumes to cover every species in a single order (or even family in some cases).

Limited expertise of the expert being consulted. Most entomologists are specialists on a single order, or even family or genus, of insects. Consequently, when confronted with something unfamiliar, they are not easily able to offer a definitive answer. I can count on one hand the number of entomologists with an impressive ability to identify almost anything (and I am not one of them). Please bear that in mind when making your identification request.

Considering everything that can go wrong, it is a minor miracle that most folks who submit requests for identification end up being satisfied with the results. We aim to please, and are happy to make your day by solving whatever was, um, “bugging” you.