Insect species

Moderators

The following moderators provide knowledge and expertise for Insects:

donhe  |  AlisonMilton  |  RogerF  |  HarveyPerkins  |  mcosgrove  |  WingsToWander  |  canberrabutterflies  |  Curiosity  |  MEJETEuge  |  KylieWaldon  |  Aussiegall

Become a moderator

Overview

A guide to Australian insect families (from CSIRO) can be found at:
http://anic.ento.csiro.au/insectfamilies/

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.

5986 species

Proteuxoa restituta (Black-bodied Noctuid)

Proteuxoa restituta
Proteuxoa restituta
Proteuxoa restituta

Proteuxoa sanguinipuncta (Blood-spotted Noctuid)

Proteuxoa sanguinipuncta
Proteuxoa sanguinipuncta
Proteuxoa sanguinipuncta

Proteuxoa sp(9) MoV Part9 (Another Proteuxoa)

Proteuxoa sp(9) MoV Part9
Proteuxoa sp(9) MoV Part9

Proteuxoa tortisigna (Streaked Rictonis Moth)

Proteuxoa tortisigna
Proteuxoa tortisigna
Proteuxoa tortisigna

Protuliocnemis partita (A Geometer moth (Geometrinae))

Protuliocnemis partita
Protuliocnemis partita
Protuliocnemis partita

Protyora sterculiae (Kurrajong star psyllid)

Protyora sterculiae
Protyora sterculiae
Protyora sterculiae

Psaltoda harrisii (Yellowbelly)

Psaltoda harrisii
Psaltoda harrisii

1  «  233  234  235  236  237  238  239  240  241  242  243  »  300 

Conservation level

  • All conservation levels (change?)

Invasiveness

  • All invasiveness levels (change?)

Insects

Machine learning

Machine learning is not enabled.

Follow Insects

Receive alerts of new sightings

Subscribe

Share field guide

Share link to Insects field guide

2,161,897 sightings of 20,480 species in 6,638 locations from 11,789 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.