What I’ld like to do is to create something - I am not sure if this would be a project or a filter or something else (or even whether it’s possible) - that will enable me to see caddisfly observations. So I’ld click on this thing, or go to it, and it would automatically update whenever a new Trichoptera observation comes in, or when a previously unidentified or misidentified invertebrate (a moth, say) is re-identified as a caddis.
Is that possible on iSpot and, if it is, would someone be kind enough please to suggest the simplest and most foolproof way of doing it?
Set up a project and filter on Taxonomy - Trichoptera
That will let you see new caddis fly observations. Changed identifications might be more difficult, depending on what options projects offer to let you sort their list of observations. I believe that they default to date observation added, while you want date observation added/changed.
My intention is to review, if possible, all previous observations, as well as keeping track of new incoming ones.I suppose it’s not really a Project per se, merely a convenient way for me to collect and manage the caddis observations on iSpot.
Anyway, my question is whether I might be entrusted with some kind of - I don’t want to say power or authority but - ability to make identifications stick when I change them from generic caddisfly to a family or genus or species. If I don’t have that ability, then either someone with authority has to hoover up the new IDs behind me and agree them, or they remain with the previous non-specific IDs.
I am not a Dr Ian Wallace or a Dr Jim O’Connor; I will make occasional mistakes. I am cautious, however, and if I am not sure I’ll say so. Is it not better to have some attempt at a positive ID than to let an observation languish unidentified to species level?
Here are some example re-IDs to species level from recent days:
Like everyone you might have to accept that Icon power is almost everything here when it comes to Likely Banners.
Even with several agreements, they may not ‘stick’, as the Likely Banner is supposed to be with the highest reputation score, usually for good reason. I have been striving for many months in this very Forum to get people to help shift banners.
I suggest you Favourite them and, whilst that might produce a unwieldy list, it will prompt you into asking for help when all else fails. Help MAY best be found in recent (up to date) Caddis Observations where people have agreed or the Confidence is high. Kind of ‘i agree with this, can you look at mine here please’. It sometimes works. You will get help only from those who feel qualified and there are not many Caddis-ers here. It will not be long before you have four icons and that will go a long way towards shifting banners. You can improve your Inverts score by posting more Inverts that are ‘agreeable’. There really is no short-cut a high Icon Score.
The links you have placed here should be placed in your Project Description (worked for me!) - I assume most visitors there will be Caddis-ers.
That’s OK, all understood (and thank you both for taking the time and trouble to respond). Just wondering how to be helpful, especially as Trichoptera don’t seem to attract a great deal of attention; not trying to jump any queues or claim special privilege. Perhaps I should think of it more for my own satisfaction and education (reviewing the old observations has certainly helped me develop my ID skills).
Lavateraguy, I’ld feel a fraud applying for Knowledgeable/Expert status across all invertebrates when I know very little about sawflies, ichneumons, dipterans etc.
We’ve had discussion on the granularity of reputations and badges in the past. The 5 stars I’ve built up on vascular plants also applies to mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and green, red, brown and golden algae, where I’m pretty much ignorant - I can identify 3 liverwort species. But Plants just has the three communities of naturalists - vascular plants, bryophytes and algae - while Invertebrates has rather more.
