Scioly.org

Yeah rules would appear to be the same as last year.

official list is also the same

Does anyone have any websites that they use frequently for insect research? I have a few that I used a TON last year but I was wondering if there are any really good ones that I missed.

Well...I used a lot too...but I used this for identification mostly, and the species names: http://www.insectidentification.org/
and this for any other various Ento/insect info-http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/
Hope it helps?

That's funny because I used the first link you gave me several times last year! The other site is new though. I can already tell it's going to be super helpful. Thanks for sharing it with me!

Panda Weasley wrote:Does anyone have any websites that they use frequently for insect research? I have a few that I used a TON last year but I was wondering if there are any really good ones that I missed.

http://insectcollection.umn.edu/

Found this one today. It's not REALLY good, and the navigation of the site can be tricky, but if you search up terms into the search engine you'll get pages with results, examples, pictures, etc.

does anyone know a good way to differentiate between Aeshnidae and Gomphidae?

embokim wrote:does anyone know a good way to differentiate between Aeshnidae and Gomphidae?

Well..if anything, I usually look at the tip, it it has a "clubbed tail" or not, if yes, Gomphidae, if not, Aeshnidae...but there are some times when Gomphidae doesn't have the clubbed tail.
Aeshnidae, at the end of the tail, it has like the two fang like thing at the tip, (sorry..I just don't know what it is called..) And I think Gomphidae is a bit slimmer

For a dichotomous key, should each step be related to each other? For example,

1a. green color.......................go to 2
1b. red color...........................go to 3

Or is it acceptable for each step to be like

1a. green color........................go to 2
1b. raptorial forelegs.................go to 3

I was debating about this with a couple of my partners. The second example is still technically a dichotomous key I suppose, but shouldn't each substep in a step be related in order to properly characterize the insect? If you were a test maker and had to score each example, would you count both as correct or only the first one?
I think the second one is a lot easier to put for keys where you only have to identify a few, but what about hundreds of insects in a dichotomous key? The two unrelated substeps my partners put were because it was the only different characteristic they could think of, but in a key with hundreds of insects each step except for the last ones must be relatively general right? The sources I have seen online vaguely mention each substep to be grouped in a related couplet, but not much more. Each example key I have seen follows the rules of the first example. What do you think?

ceg7654 wrote:For a dichotomous key, should each step be related to each other? For example,

1a. green color.......................go to 2
1b. red color...........................go to 3

Or is it acceptable for each step to be like

1a. green color........................go to 2
1b. raptorial forelegs.................go to 3

I was debating about this with a couple of my partners. The second example is still technically a dichotomous key I suppose, but shouldn't each substep in a step be related in order to properly characterize the insect? If you were a test maker and had to score each example, would you count both as correct or only the first one?
I think the second one is a lot easier to put for keys where you only have to identify a few, but what about hundreds of insects in a dichotomous key? The two unrelated substeps my partners put were because it was the only different characteristic they could think of, but in a key with hundreds of insects each step except for the last ones must be relatively general right? The sources I have seen online vaguely mention each substep to be grouped in a related couplet, but not much more. Each example key I have seen follows the rules of the first example. What do you think?

I don't know much about this event in particular, but Bio-Process Lab also has dichotomous keys. From the perspective of a grader (completely unrelated to the event) it would be easier for them to score directly by the key, so if most keys you see follow the first step, then that will likely be easier to grade.