Invasive ants form a small and somewhat distinct subset of ants introduced into new environments by humans. A majority of introduced ants remain confined to human-modified habitats and some of these species are often referred to as tramp ants because of their reliance on human-mediated dispersal and close association with humans generally. Although hundreds…
Over the past decade two prominent thrips taxonomists, Laurence Mound in Australia and Gerald Moritz in Germany, together with international colleagues, have authored several Lucid Thrips identification tools. The first, a CD for identifying thrips species likely to be intercepted by quarantine officials in Australia, was produced in 1998. This led to further Lucid based…
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the ITP over 10 years ago. Its purpose – to develop digital identification aids and tools primarily for use by staff in the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS). Since these tools are freely available on the web and as mobile apps (www.idtools.org), they can be used…
The initial purpose in developing Lucid was to provide taxonomists with software they could use to develop matrix identification keys for use by non-taxonomists. It soon became apparent that agronomists and other agricultural scientists could use Lucid software in a different way, to develop crop diagnostic tools for use by farmers, advisors, and other non-specialists.…
This Lucid based identification and information system includes 177 species of thrips that have been taken alive on the British Isles at least once. It provides a means of identifying species, together with an introduction to what is known of the biology and distribution of each species. Developed by Laurence Mound (Australian National Insect Collection,…