BugGuide
| Web address | bugguide.net |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | No |
| Type of site | Entomology, Citizen science |
| Registration | required |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Owner | Iowa State University |
| Launched | 2003 |
| Current status | Online |
BugGuide (or BugGuide.Net) is a website and online community of naturalists, both amateur and professional, who share observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures.[1] The website consists of informational guide pages and many thousands of photographs of arthropods from the United States and Canada. It is used for identification and research. The non-commercial site is hosted by the Iowa State University Department of Entomology. BugGuide was conceived by photographer Troy Bartlett in 2003 and since 2006 has been maintained by Dr. John VanDyk, Professor of Entomology at Iowa State University.[2]
According to VanDyk, BugGuide had over 809 million hits in 2010. He also stated that in early 2011 the site consisted of almost 34,000 written pages representing about 23 percent of the estimated insect species in North America.[3] In April 2012 the guide surpassed 500,000 photos.[4] In December 2012, BugGuide had over 26,000 species pages and 42,000 total pages, with over 579,000 images submitted by more than 21,000 contributors.[5]
The photographs posted have contributed to or resulted in several scientific publications. A large proportion of images featured in an atlas of vespid wasps[6] are credited to contributors to BugGuide.[7] BugGuide photographs have detected new state records of invasive pest ants[8] and beetles.[9]
Geologist and moth collector Richard Wilson said of the site, "The BugGuide site is very useful for anyone finding an insect and it is very interactive on getting it identified if a picture can be taken."[10]
According to gardening author Margaret Roach, "The site is where naturalists of all levels share photos of 'insects, spiders and their kin' to foster enthusiasm and expand the knowledge base about these often-overlooked (and as BugGuide points out, 'oft-maligned') creatures."[11]
References
- ↑ "Discovering bugs and her passion". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ↑ "John VanDyk's Contributor Page" on BugGuide.Net.
- ↑ "Five questions for John VanDyk". Inside Iowa State. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ↑ "BugGuide passes the half million mark". Iowa State University, Department of Entomology. May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- ↑ BugGuide System Statistics, 13 December 2012
- ↑ Buck, M.; Marshall, S.A. and Cheung D.K.B. (2008). [http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/bmc_05/bmc_05.html. "Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the northeastern Nearctic region"]. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 5. doi:10.3752/cjai.2008.05. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ Marshall, S.A. (2008). "Field photography and the democratization of arthropod taxonomy". American Entomologist 54 (4): 207–210.
- ↑ MacGown, J.A.; J.G. Hill (2010). "Two new exotic pest ants, Pseudomyrmex gracilis and Monomorium floricola (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) collected in Mississippi". Midsouth Entomologist 3: 106–109.
- ↑ Aalbu, R.L.; Kanda K., Steiner W.E., Jr. (2009). "Opatroides punctulatus Brullé now established in California (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).". The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 85 (2): 38–42.
- ↑ "The Moth Man of Bay Center". Oregon Public Broadcasting. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- ↑ Margaret Roach (20 September 2012). "Why I’m Abuzz About bugguide.net". A Way to Garden. Retrieved 13 December 2012.