Maps, Dates

It's been awhile since I made a blog post. I don't think anybody reads them, so really they are an open notebook. Here are some things I've learned since last I posted.

  1. Mapping observations is quite helpful. I noticed some conspicuous holes in my observations, and made a point to get to those locations and see what I'd been missing. For example, I noticed I hadn't logged any observations from a little sand ridge in the middle of the Lena Park Cabin woods. My trips there were rewarded both with some interesting observations, but also with a sense that this section is one of the less disturbed portions of the property.
  2. Searching "your observations" is a useful practice. Often I photograph something I've observed and recorded previously, but don't remember the exact name. By specifying what I do remember and an approximate season (e.g. "Diptera" and "May or June") it's easy to make a query that generates a manageable list to scan through. For example, when I photographed an unfamiliar potter wasp this spring, I wondered if it was from a genus I hadn't previously recorded. Looking at the list of all potter wasps I'd observed in May and June, it was quickly obvious that it was a new genus for me, and after some looking I concluded it was Symmorpha. I tagged Heather Holm, and she was able to get it to species - Symmorpha canadensis. Not just new for me, but the first for Indiana.

So I'm still pretty much smitten by the iNat interface. All for now.

Publicado el junio 3, 2020 06:19 TARDE por martinlucas martinlucas

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