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Is everyone planning to use Audubon to compete, because ID may not be the easiest with Audubon? (it doesn't have pictures for a lot of the families). But, I know all arbitrations will refer back to Audubon.... Any suggestions?

I'm personally very conflicted, as I personally like some other guide's pictures and set up better. I'll need to practice more, and then I'll think about it. I may just end up doing what I did last year, which was tranfer basically every fact I could possibly need from the Audubon into the books I wanted to use for competition.

I'm using Audubon since ID isn't that much of a challenge(not as bad as forestry) anyway. And, there's barely any time to refer to pictures...so I always use Audubon. But, it's always good to review and study with other field guides beforehand because they can add a different perspective for identification. : )

hotchocolate123 wrote:I'm using Audubon since ID isn't that much of a challenge(not as bad as forestry) anyway.

I understand what you mean, because plenty of insects that we need to know are distinctive. But I'm strugging so much more with ID than I did last year or the year before... It's probably because it's so out of my comfort zone. Flashcards, here I come!

As to the bees vs flies question, Bees and other Hymenoptera such as wasps have two pairs of functional wings, while flies that mimic bees, like other Diptera, have only one functional pair of wings.

Just wondering if anyone is making any bugs practice tests or quizzes, as there are none on the test exchange...yet... (I might make one myself sooner or later, when I have all my information organized)

What's the best way to study for this?

Hosj wrote:What's the best way to study for this?

In my experience in these type of events I usually work on identification and being able to navigate the information until I know it better, as fact questions will be wrong if the ID isn't correct. However, I think that everyone studies differently, and I know that my study system differs greatly from my partner's. You should try out different study techniques until you find one that works for you.

There's a quiz you can do on this site, right? It gives you random pictures and you have to type in the family or order. Another thing you can do is to read the book. Whether you're using the Audubon one or the NWF one, read the entire book(not the ones we aren't required to identify) and read it as many times as you can.

The quiz is here: http://scioly.org/users/balsa/public/Sc ... index.html It's really useful for studying, but your answers have to be exact.

It was in the "Quizzing Announcement" thread of the Question Marathons.