British insects - Intkey packages

[Les at]

BRITISH INSECTS
A suite of packages for interactive information retrieval and identification,
with illustrations from classic works
(L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz)

The first posting of this endeavour can be accessed at the DELTA Web site:

http://delta-intkey.com

It currently comprises thirteen packages for British insects, viz.: the Orders
of insects; the families of Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera,
Lepidoptera and Trichoptera; the genera of Ephemeroptera, of
Lepidoptera-Geometridae, of Lepidoptera-Noctuidae and of Orthoptera (sensu
stricto); the species of Lepidoptera-Gracillariidae-Phyllonorycter
(Lithocolletis), and the species of Odonata.

Introductory notes, source references for the descriptive data, illustrations,
and other relevant information, can be accessed within each package. All are at
early stages of development, and the descriptive data throughout need checking
and extending, with input from persons with expertise in particular groups. On
the other hand, taxon images of good quality (and often of historical interest)
are provided on a large scale, and every set offers a capacity for interactive
identification and for retrieval of morphological, ecological and taxonomic
information.

The original intention was to make available scans of the fine, hand-coloured
engravings of insects from John Curtis's 'British Entomology: illustrations and
descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland'
(1824-1840), of which the first 12 volumes (up to 1835) are available to us.
(The botanical components of these plates are utilized in our 'Families of
Flowering Plants' package, also available at the DELTA site.) Addition of
numerous images from early classic works such as Shaw and Nodder ('Naturalist's
Miscellany', 1789-1813), Newman (1869 and 1871, for Macrolepidoptera), Walker
(1851-1856, for Diptera), Saunders (1896, for Hymenoptera-Aculeata), Lucas
(1900, for Odonata), etc., enables us to illustrate nearly all the groups
covered quite extensively, in what we hope is an interesting way. Curtis's
illustrations are widely supplemented with scans of his accompanying
descriptive text, partly to provide legends for the plates, and partly for
their potential interest to present day students. In particular, they exemplify
his meticulous, detailed comparative descriptions and assessments of taxonomic
relationships, which, though pre-evolutionary, are couched in remarkably modern
terms.

The JPEG illustrations have been prepared for convenience of distribution and
screen display, and are less sharp than the TIFF scans from which they were
generated. The latter have been retained, and could be made available on
request for worthwhile applications.

We want to improve these data sets, and develop them properly, by encouraging
input from interested and suitably knowledgeable amateur or professional
entomologists. Contributions will be suitably acknowledged, and where
appropriate could lead to joint authorship.

Dr. Les Watson
78 Vancouver Street         Email: leswatson at westnet.com.au
Albany, WA 6330, Australia  Phone: +61 (08) 98 416181