February 5, 2024

Criteria

I want to take a moment to state my criteria for including or excluding species from this project.

I want to be able to confirm herbivory in some way.

If an insect is just sitting on the plant, that does not necessarily suggest herbivory. It could be visiting flowers. I am not including instances of pollen or nectar feeding because this does not harm the plant.

If it is an adult that only feeds on Conium as a larva, I will not include it.

If I suspect that it feeds on Conium but it is only there mating (something I've seen frequently now with some shield bugs) then I will exclude it.

If the insect is on the plant and it is an herbivore with no other business being there, then I will include it. For instance, chrysomelids appear to be visit Conium but they are not there pollinating the plant. Leafhoppers and treehoppers also fit in this category.

If there is an instance of egg laying (and it is not a predator species) then I will likely include it. I've come across this in one case and not being familiar with the species I wanted to flag it for follow-up.

Posted on February 5, 2024 07:35 PM by ccoslor ccoslor | 0 comments | Leave a comment

Useful links to find suitable observations

Posted on February 5, 2024 07:24 PM by ccoslor ccoslor | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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