Downloadable Insect keys

[rowanalder]

Hi eveyone,

I have a few free key's for identifying insects on the internet. Can some of you point me in the right direction to find some more. I am interested in everything I know that noone can know eveything but it would be nice to have these keys. Ill be interested in any advanced or not on any order of insects.

Thanks Ro.

[rowanalder]

Sorry mainly looking for bugs, beetles, ants, bees, wasps, and flies.

And another thing is the L. E. Friday book on The Adults of British Water Beetles being republished?

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Rowan,

Try this: Online Keys for Identifying Insects

What ones have you found?

Take care,

Jason

[eucera]

Keys to a couple of 2 bee genera on the BWARS website BWARS Home Page

Beyond this none is available online. Ditto wasps.

[tristanba]

various keys I have bookmarked for European insects

Hemiptera > Rhopalidae
http://www.zsm.mwn.de/rhy/Rhopalidae.pdf


Diptera > Conopidae
Conopidae genera key (Diptera: Conopidae)

[lync]

http://www.wildlifebcnp.org/document...daeKeys_v3.pdf

[Geoff F]

I suppose one of the most comprehensive keys is the Delta IntKey system but I didn't find it user friendly (actually that is an under statement) and it doesn't even auto load. You have to enter the programme into your computer through 'the back door' like so many other complicated programmes that were available a few years ago.

And after your free month's trial it definitely isn't cheap. Around £300 if I remember correctly!

But there are a few freebies associated with the main programmes. So if anybody wants to have a look here is the main starter page DELTA System - Overview but where you go from there is anybody's guess.

Incidentally, I did manage to install it once but didn't pay to continue.

Anyhow, back to reality. Be careful about internet identification as many sites are US based but that isn't always clear at the start; although they may still work well to get you to basic family level.

The Aidgap booklets are reasonably priced and I find them easy to use. Well most of the time anyway!

But any ID keys can be a struggle to use with photos, as I'm sure you are already aware. Too often, I find myself shouting at the book 'I can't see that can I' when one simple difference makes a choice between several totally different families. Often I do better by starting with an illustration and working backwards from that.

[lync]

The Society for the study of flies (Diptera) / Info

[rowanalder]

Originally Posted by Jason Green

Afternoon Rowan,

Try this: Online Keys for Identifying Insects

What ones have you found?

Take care,

Jason

Thanks eveyone.

The keys that I have found are:
A Simple Key To The Commoner Families Of British Beetles
A Key To The Families Of British Diptera
A Short Key To The British Dropsophilidae (Diptera)
Key To Larvae Of British Mayflies (Ephemeroptera)
A Key To The Adults Of British Lesser Water Boatmen (Corixidae)
Key To Sub-orders Of Hymenoptera
The British Potter And Mason Wasp Handbook - The Key
A Quick Key To The Adults Of The Major Orders Of Insects
A Revised Key To The British Carcelia Species
The Identity Of Stenopsocus Species (Psocoptera: Stenopsocidae) In Britain

Plus ones from the BWARS websites.

I have discovered the Naturalists' Handbook series and the RES books but need to get my hands on them.

[Geoff F]

You have certainly found some useful keys there.

Here are a few more which may be of some interest.

Gavin Broad's Identification key to the subfamilies of Ichneumonidae is a good detailed guide but can be difficult to follow if you only have photos to work from http://www.brc.ac.uk/downloads/Ichne...family_key.pdf

This spider key can prove useful Bestimmung_Ganz

[ChrisR]

Don't forget my translation of the key to the Tachinidae of Central Europe (which covers northern Europe and Britain)