A DG gallery for positive insect id's?

Is there anyone else who would be interested in this?
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/628548/

That sounds like a great idea. It also sounds like a lot of work! There'd have to be a ton of categories (good bugs, foes, flying insects, spiders, caterpillars, etc.). I guess if a lot of people could contribute, it wouldn't be such a huge task? How would a project like this be started?

Terry came up with a solution. For now I'll make the entries to Garden Terms the way she suggested. Maybe in the future, if enough people participate, a separate section on just critters will be created. All good things take time and this is a great way to start.

I sure hope more people will take an interest. It would be so cool to have something right here at DG, created by DG members, that would be easy to access and simple to use.
A place right here at home where we could just post a link and people could find pictures and info of everything about a certain insect from eggs to adult .... and the damage they might or might not do. :)
It's exciting to think of what this project could grow up to be. :)

This message was edited Jul 20, 2006 10:42 AM

I've added a note at the top of this forum to encourage others to participate as well.

vee8ch is right - it takes some effort, but if everyone contributes a little, the work is spread out and no one is unduly burdened. Just think - PlantFiles started out in early 2001 with under 100 entries. Five years later, we have over 130,000 entries and nearly that many photos.

To keep things organized and manageable, let's be sure to create just one entry for each insect. Images of its entire lifecycle can be submitted there, along with comments. For now, we'll use common names as the entry's title in Garden Terms but if you can, be sure to include its scientific name as well - if this project takes off, we will probably create a database where the scientific name can be cross-referenced to the common name.

Excellent idea! I just wish my camera could take better close-ups.

To make it easier to find the existing entries, here are the insect-related entries I found already listed in Garden Terms:

aphids: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/33.html
bagworm: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1251.html
bee: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1258.html (obviously, different bees would need different entries ;o)
braconid wasps: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1565.html
budworm: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1269.html
cabbage looper: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1273.html
capsid bugs: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2188.html
caterpillars: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2189.html
chinch bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1283.html
cicadas: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1285.html
cochineal: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2297.html
cucumber beetle: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2281.html
cutworms: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/236.html
earwig: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2206.html
four-lined plant bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2135.html
encarsia wasp: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1655.html
fruit fly: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/374.html
grasshopper: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1349.html
grub worm: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/416.html
gypsy moth: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1357.html
iris borer: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1399.html
Japanese beetle: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2298.html
lace bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1408.html
lacewing: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1407.html
ladybug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2288.html
leafhopper: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1414.html
leaf miner: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1415.html
leatherjackets: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2248.html
longhorn cactus beetle: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2598.html
locust: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2322.html
mealy bugs: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1164.html
multi-colored asian lady beetle: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1954.html
oriental fruit moth: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1463.html
pill bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1497.html
praying mantis: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1512.html
rose chafer: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/617.html
scale: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1204.html
sow bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1594.html
sphinx moth: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2137.html
spider: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2317.html (another very generic entry ;o)
spider mite: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1597.html
spitbug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2280.html
spittle bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/2279.html
squash borer: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1604.html
squash bug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1605.html
stinkbug: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1610.html
thrips: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1165.html
tomato hornworm: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1624.html
tobacco hornworm: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/3080.html
treehopper: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/1627.html

Wow! That's huge help! Thank you Terry.

Cicada Killer: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/3083

I will try to put some in - I have many pics made "smaller" from when my "Friend or Foe" threads were popular. Is there a preferred size for photos? It would help for me to know what size to make them.

I have dial-up though, so it'll take me a while to get my collection of pictures downloaded. I will likey concentrate on beneficial insects first as that seems to be a category less represented on the list.

Edited to add: What about the more generic categories - such as "spider" for example. I have several pictures of spiders representing about half a dozen families at least. Or would you rather have me put them all under "spider" with the names included there?

This message was edited Jul 23, 2006 7:31 AM

Night_Bloom...since there has been an outpouring of support for this project, Dave has agreed to build a database for bugs (his post must be on a thread in another forum.)

You might want to hold off until that's in place, especially since you're on dialup. Most likely this will be similar to PlantFiles, but not quite as detailed - text fields for common and scientific name, photo upload, and comments (with ratings), and ZIP codes.

The preferred size for images is 640x480 or 800 x 600 pixels. Anything larger than 1000 x 800 will be resized by the system. For dialup users, the smaller end of the range is probably easier and faster to upload.

Bugs is a great term as it would include insects and arachnids.