Making observations 'Research Grade' when the species can't be ID'd

Sphaerophoria, Syrphus and Eupeodes are three genera that dominate the 'Needs ID' pile in the UK. It is no surprise why: they are commonly observed, and it is frequently impossible to identify the species from photos. The UK Hoverfly Recording Scheme accepts records at the genus level, but these iNat observations will not reach them unless they are made 'Research Grade'. Observations become 'Research Grade' automatically if the ID is confirmed at species level, but at higher levels someone needs to click the box in the DQA section of an observation that reads: "Based on the evidence, can the Community Taxon still be confirmed or improved? No, it's as good as it can be"

Here are a few pointers on using this box:

1) Before making something research grade, check that the annotations have been added.

2) Make sure that the Community taxon is at Genus. (Not just your own ID)

This needs to be fleshed out. The 'Community Taxon' is the one that has the support of the community (i.e. more than 2/3 of at least 2 identifications in agreement). The ID shown on the page is often the leading ID, not the Community ID. For example:

You find an observation with just one ID 'Family Syrphidae', you add the ID 'Genus Syrphus'. Do not click 'No, it's as good as it can be' at this point. The Community ID is still 'Family Syrphidae', because that is what two IDs agree on. If you click at this point it will become a casual observation at Family, rather than a research grade observation at Genus. You need to wait until someone has agreed with your Genus ID.

You can check what the community taxon is on the right hand side on the observation page on the website:

More information about how the Community Taxon works can be found here

3) Only use it if you are confident that the observation cannot be ID'd further (not just that you can't ID it further).

This will be the case only if the necessary ID features are not visible, or the photo is very obscure (too blurred). Of course there is an element of judgement involved, but we can try to be as objective as possible.

I'm aiming to add some specific resources to help with the three genera, Sphaerophoria, Syrphus and Eupeodes sooner or later, but I did make a guide to European Syrphus a while ago where you can get plenty of information already.

Posted on September 5, 2023 12:02 PM by matthewvosper