A note to bookmark some useful iNat search URLs & tool to help with data.

Find a user's rarest observations

https://elias.pschernig.com/wildflower/leastobserved.html

I'm trying to figure out what distinguishes Sicya crocearia from Sicya macularia. It seems that there may not be any visual cues that clearly distinguish the two species in their adult forms.

Online Reference Comparison

Sicya crocearia

Usual online references:

• Wikipedia
• BugGuide
• MPG
• BOLD, Barcode of Life
• GBIF
• CP Gillette Museum images
• UAlberta: none
• E-Fauna BC

Sicya macularia

Usual online references:

• Wikipedia
• BugGuide
• MPG
• BOLD, Barcode of Life
• GBIF
• CP Gillette Museum images
• UAlberta
• E-Fauna BC

Notes

• A quick glance at two DNA barcode, one for each species. They were identical.
  
• Between the two sets in the C.P. Gillette Museum's collection where images are available, there might be a small difference: Among the specimens labelled S. crocearia the following features appear unique to the set, although not present in all examples:
• 1. Forewing: Sharper discontinuity in the terminal band, where it transitions from reddish brown to yellow perpendicular to the length of the wing.
• 2. Forewing: The terminal band widens more at the costa.
• 3. Forewing: Inner reddish brown band widens more at the inner edge.
• (Only the 3rd feature seems consistent with the MPG photos.)

References

• Parsons, 1999 in Geometrid moths of the world : a catalogue (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)
• https://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/geometroidea/geometridae/ennominae/sicya/
• McGuffin, W. C. (1977). GUIDE TO THE GEOMETRIDAE OF CANADA (LEPIDOPTERA): II. SUBFAMILY ENNOMINAE. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, 109(S101), 1–191. doi:10.4039/entm109101fv
• MPG: Geometridae: Ourapterygini
• https://bugguide.net/node/view/26031/bgref (are any specific?)

Pohl 2018

• Greg R. Pohl, et al. in Annotated checklist of the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Canada and Alaska, 2018.

Suggests that S. crocearia might not be a distinct species:

Sicya Guenée, 1857

crocearia Packard, 1873 (Sicya)

NOTE: This taxon may not be sufficiently distinct from S. macularia to warrant status as a separate species, but it is retained here pending further work.

VNHS Blog

The problem with Sicya is that there seems no general agreement as to whether S. macularia and S. crocearia are truly separate species, or whether they should be lumped as one. Jeremy Tatum writes: Unlike the case for iridopsis, I have no opinion one way or the other. In looking at published pictures of aduilts [sic] and larvae, I see conflicting evidence. In the adults, there seems to be no consistent reliable feature for telling one from the other, so I would say they are all one species. On the other hand, there seem to be two distinct caterpillars, suggesting that they are separate species. I’ll label Jochen’s moth with an either/or.

Sicya macularia/crocearia (Lep.: Geometridae) Jochen Möhr

Source: "July 16 evening" (blog post), Victoria Natural History Society, Victoria, British Columbia.

LepIndex

• https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/lepindex/detail/?taxonno=245892

Original Descriptions

Sicya macularia Harris 1850

Ennomos macularia, 1850

• forewings: rust-brown costal spot near the shoulders
• a transverse row of spots near the base
• a stigmatical dot
• three little spots near the tip
• a very large lozenge-shaped spot at the anal angle, of the same brown color
• the large spot being bordered before and behind with darker brown

Sicya crocearia Packard 1873

• https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/1836945295
• Syntype
• Alpheus S. Packard, Jr. in Catalogue of the Phalaenidae of California. No. 2. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 16:13–40., 1873.
• sulphur yellow
• primaries crossed y two light brown lines
• inner line oblique, scarecely curved, and bent at right angles on the costa
• the outer runs straight from just beyond the middle of the inner edge of the wing to the costa, on which it forks, ending just before the apex; beyond this line the wing is pale fawn brown, the apical region clear yellow.
• hind wings with a single sinuate reddish or brown line, beyond which the wing is tinged with reddish, while within the line it is inclined to be whitish.

Sometimes it's useful to browse species visually. I find this feature particularly useful for moths, as although I've photographed several, I lack sufficient expertise and familiarity.

I've used the iNaturalist taxonomy under Moths and Butterflies for moths to create a table of superfamilies to visually browse. The site limits display to the top 500 most frequently observed species within a given search, hence for some superfamilies (SF) such as Noctuoidea, the individual families (F) need to be perused in order to see all of the species identified to date.

Other tools exist, however these tend to display pinned moth specimens, whereas the images on iNaturalist tend to be photographs of live moths with their wings folded. Comparing between your photo of a live moth and pinned specimens can be difficult, hence why there's a benefit to looking at the species list on iNaturalist.

Perhaps this will also be useful to others.

Visual Tools for Lepidoptera Identification

These are other tools that I use regularly:

North American Moth Photographers Group: Plate index of North American moth species.

Pacific Northwest Moths: Photographic Plates. Coverage is limited to the following moth families:

• S.F. Bombycoidea (only native families: Saturniidae, Sphingidae)
• S.F. Drepanoidea (only native family: Drepanidae)
• S.F. Geometroidea (only: Uraniidae) ... not: Geometridae (!)
• S.F. Lasiocampoidea (Lasiocampidae)
• S.F. Noctuoidea (Notodontidae, Erebidae, Euteliidae, Nolidae, and Noctuidae)

Lists of BC Moth Species Observed on iNaturalist

Num Species	Level	Name	Taxon num	Nickname	Visual List (.ca)	Visual List (.org)
556	SF	Noctuoidea	47607	Owlet Moths and Allies	link	link
↳6	↳F	Nolidae	52873	Tufted Moths	link	link
↳420	↳F	Noctuidae	48670	Cutworm Moths and Allies	link	link
↳29	↳F	Notodontidae	47718	Prominent Moths	link	link
↳100	↳F	Erebidae	121850	Underwing, Tiger, Tussock, and Allied Moths	link	link
↳1	↳F	Euteliidae	122126	Euteliid Moths	link	link
↳0	↳F	Oenosandridae	208620	Oenosandrid Moths	link	link
258	SF	Geometroidea	49531	Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths	link	link
171	SF	Papilionoidea	47224	Butterflies	link	link
132	SF	Tortricoidea	47156	Tortricid Leafroller Moths and Allies	link	link
131	SF	Pyraloidea	49682	Pyralid and Crambid Snout Moths	link	link
64	SF	Gelechioidea	55518	Curved-horn Moths	link	link
28	SF	Bombycoide	47214	Hawk, Sphinx, Silk, Emperor, and Allied Moths	link	link
24	SF	Yponomeutoidea	53552	Ermine Moths and Allies	link	link
22	SF	Cossoidea	122746	Carpenter, Leopard, Goat, and Allied Moths	link	link
18	SF	Tineoidea	61414	Bagworms, Clothes Moths, and Allies	link	link
14	SF	Pterophoroidea	47405	(Plume Moths)	link	link
13	SF	Gracillarioidea	61352	-	link	link
9	SF	Adeloidea	51269		link	link
9	SF	Drepanoidea	84429	Hooktip Moths and Allies	link	link
8	SF	Choreutoidea	67431	-	link	link
7	SF	Lasiocampoidea	56583	-	link	link
5	SF	Hepialoidea	53784	Ghost Moths and Swift Moths	link	link
3	SF	Copromorphoidea	173392	Fruitworm Moths	link	link
2	SF	Nepticuloidea	176535	Pygmy Leafminer Moths	link	link
2	SF	Tischerioidea	244425	Trumpet Leafminer Moths	link	link
1	SF	Alucitoidea	48149	Many-plumed and False Plume Moths	link	link
1	SF	Eriocranioidea	173581	-	link	link
1	SF	Micropterigoidea	173647	Mandibulate Archaic Moth	link	link
1	SF	Schreckensteinioidea	345533	-	link	link
1	SF	Thyridoidea	82789	Picture-winged Leaf Moths	link	link
1	SF	Zygaenoidea	52029	Flannel, Slug Caterpillar, Leaf Skeletonizer, and Allied Moths	link	link
0	SF	Acanthopteroctetoidea	453155		link	link
0	SF	Agathiphagoidea	479873		link	link
0	SF	Andesianoidea	874769	-	link	link
0	SF	Calliduloidea	121882	-	link	link
0	SF	Epermenioidea	173636	Fringe-tufted Moths	link	link
0	SF	Galacticoidea	417180	Galacticid Moths	link	link
0	SF	Heterobathmioidea	625199	-	link	link
0	SF	Hyblaeoidea	202663	Teak Moths	link	link
0	SF	Immoidea	52009	-	link	link
0	SF	Lophocoronoidea	752426	-	link	link
0	SF	Mimallonoidea	119526	Sack-bearer Moths	link	link
0	SF	Mnesarchaeoidea	479874	-	link	link
0	SF	Neopseustoidea	736085	-	link	link
0	SF	Palaephatoidea	526833	-	link	link
0	SF	Simaethistoidea	752423	-	link	link
0	SF	Urodoidea	417188	False Burnet Moths	link	link
0	SF	Whalleyanoidea	752419	-	link	link
0	F	Aenigmatineidae	1008068	-	link	link
0	F	Douglasiidae	178892	-	link	link
0	F	Millieriidae	981683	-	link	link

---

How was this made?

The above list is just a table. Journals use Markdown formatting, and there is also Markdown formatting for creating tables.

The easiest way to make a Markdown table is to first create the table in a spreadsheet (mine was in Google Docs), then to copy the table and paste it into the Markdown Tables Generator. That site will quickly convert the table into Markdown code. Copy and paste the code into the journal and voilà, you're done.

To make the links, I used a CONCATENATE function, which is commonly found in spreadsheet applications, to place the taxon_id number in each link. Here's an example formula:

=concatenate("[link](https://www.inaturalist.ca/observations?place_id=7085&taxon_id=",D2,"&view=species)")

If you wish to replicate this for yourself,

Genus Cornus

This post was originally intended to be a wiki to facilitate the organization of the genus Cornus into subgenera, following a flag which sought to bring together the "dwarf dogwoods" under their subgenus in order to allow for identifiers to offer a narrower ID for the often indistinguishable Cornus canadensis and Cornus unalaschkensis, but which separates them from the trees and shrubs which make up much of the genus.

Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang's 2006 paper (ref 1) appears to be the most recent and most complete treatment of the genus Cornus which includes information on the widely-used subgenera. The authors note that the present division of the subgenera is imperfect, however it is what we have to work with and if is revised in the future, changes can be dealt with then.

One additional group may be required for hybrids which involve parent species from two different subgenera, or otherwise they can be left directly below the genus.

Species List

Current (iNat)

List of species currently listed on iNaturalist. Some species appear to be duplicates. Once merged, please strike the synonym from the list with tildes.

• Cornus alba
  
• Cornus alpina
• Cornus alternifolia
• Cornus amomum
• Cornus asperifolia
• Cornus bretschneideri
• Cornus canadensis
• Cornus capitata
• Cornus controversa
• Cornus darvasica
• Cornus disciflora
• Cornus drummondii
• Cornus elliptica
• Cornus excelsa
• Cornus florida
• Cornus foemina
• Cornus glabrata
• Cornus hemsleyi
• Cornus hongkongensis
• Cornus iberica
• Cornus japonica
• Cornus koehneana
• Cornus kousa
• Cornus macrophylla
• Cornus mas
• Cornus meyeri
• Cornus multinervosa
• Cornus nuttallii
• Cornus obliqua
• Cornus oblonga
• Cornus officinalis
• Cornus peruviana
• Cornus racemosa
• Cornus rugosa
• Cornus sanguinea
• Cornus schindleri
• Cornus sericea
• Cornus sessilis
• Cornus suecica
• Cornus unalaschkensis
• Cornus volkensii
• Cornus walteri
• Cornus wilsoniana
• Cornus × acadiensis
• Cornus × arnoldiana
• Cornus × friedlanderi
• Cornus × slavinii

Possible Synonyms

These entries appear to be synonyms of other species. Once merged, please strike the synonym from the list with tildes.

• Cornus alpina
• Cornus japonica

Possible Additions

Species not presently included on the list. Once added, please strike the entry from the list with tildes.

• Cornus austrosinensis
• Cornus oligophlebia
• Cornus quinquenervis
• Cornus eydeana
• Cornus × rutgersensis

---

Subgroups & Subgenera

Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang's 2006 paper breaks the genus into 4 clades which contain a total of 10 subgenera. I've organized the species following her arrangement.

I. Blue- or White-fruited Dogwoods

Yinquania

• Cornus oblonga
• Cornus peruviana

Kraniopsis

• Cornus alba
  
• Cornus alpina (Synonym used in ref-1)

POWO: synonym of Cornus macrophylla var. macrophylla

Cornus amomum

Cornus asperifolia

Cornus austrosinensis (Add to iNat)

• POWO: accepted species

Cornus bretschneideri

Cornus drummondii

Cornus excelsa

Cornus foemina

Cornus glabrata

Cornus hemsleyi

Cornus koehneana

Cornus macrophylla

~~Cornus microcarpa~~ (Synonym used in ref-1)

• GBIF: Synonym of Cornus asperifolia Michx.
• POWO: Synonym of Cornus asperifolia Michx.

Cornus obliqua

• GBIF: Synonym of Cornus amomum subsp. obliqua (Raf.) J.S.Wilson
• POWO: accepted species

Cornus oligophlebia (Add to iNat)

• NOT ON iNAT.
• GBIF: [accepted species]](https://www.gbif.org/species/3663629)
• POWO: [accepted species]](http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:271630-1)

Cornus quinquenervis (Add to iNat)

• NOT ON iNAT.
• POWO: accepted species
• Synonyms: Cornus paucinervis & Swida paucinervis

Cornus racemosa

Cornus rugosa

Cornus sanguinea

Cornus schindleri

Cornus sericea

Cornus walteri

Cornus wilsoniana

Cornus × arnoldiana

• Arnold Arboretum, Harvard: Hybrid: C. obliqua × C. racemosa

Cornus × friedlanderi

• Wildflower.org: Natural hybrid of Cornus racemosa and C. rugosa.

Cornus × slavinii

• Canadensys: Hybrid parents: C. sericea × C. rugosa

Mesomora

• Cornus alternifolia
• Cornus controversa

II. Cornelian Cherries

Afrocrania

• Cornus volkensii

Cornus

• Cornus eydeana (Add to iNAT)

POWO: accepted species

GBIF: accepted species

Cornus mas

Cornus officinalis

Cornus sessilis

Sinocornus

• Cornus chinensis : (Add to iNAT)

GBIF: accepted species

POWO: accepted species. Has several synonyms & subspecies.

III. Big-bracted Dogwoods

Discocrania

• Cornus disciflora

Cynoxylon

• Cornus florida
• Cornus nuttallii

Syncarpea

• Cornus capitata
• Cornus elliptica
• Cornus hongkongensis
• Cornus kousa
• Cornus japonica (Synonym)

GBIF: Synonym of Cornus kousa subsp. kousa

POWO: Synonym

Cornus multinervosa

IV. Dwarf Dogwoods

Arctocrania (Dwarf Dogwoods)

• Cornus Linnaeus subg. Arctocrania (Endlicher) Reichenbach, Deut. Bot. Herb.-Buch. 143. 1841.
• Cornus canadensis
• Cornus suecica
• Cornus unalaschkensis

V. Intrer-Clade Hybrids?

• Cornus × rutgersensis (Add to iNat?)

POWO: This species is an artifical hybrid

Hybrid: C. florida × C. kousa

Cornus × acadiensis

• Canadensys: Hybrid parents: C. sericea × C. alternifolia

Subgenus not specified

• Cornus darvasica

POWO: accepted species

Cornus iberica

• POWO: accepted species

Cornus meyeri

• POWO: accepted species

References

1. Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang, David T. Thomas, Wenheng Zhang, Steven R. Manchester, Zack Murrell, Species level phylogeny of the genus Cornus (Cornaceae) based on molecular and morphological evidence—implications for taxonomy and Tertiary intercontinental migration, Taxon, 2006, 9-30. DOI: 10.2307/25065525. PDF
2. Chuanzhu Fan, (Jenny) Qiu-Yun Xiang, Phylogenetic relationships within Cornus (Cornaceae) based on 26S rDNA sequences, American Journal of Botany, 2001, —. DOI: 10.2307/2657096
3. Zack E. Murrell, Dwarf Dogwoods: Intermediacy and the Morphological Landscape, Systematic Botany, 1994, 539-556. DOI: —
4. Zack E. Murrell, Phylogenetic Relationships in Cornus (Cornaceae), Systematic Botany, 1993, 469-495. DOI: 10.2307/2419420
5. QY Xiang, DE Soltis, PS Soltis, Phylogenetic relationships of Cornaceae and close relatives inferred from matK and rbcL sequences, American Journal of Botany, 1998, —. DOI: 10.2307/2446317
6. Qiu-Yun (Jenny) Xiang, Steve R. Manchester, David T. Thomas, Wenheng Zhang, Chuanzhu Fan, PHYLOGENY, BIOGEOGRAPHY, AND MOLECULAR DATING OF CORNELIAN CHERRIES (CORNUS, CORNACEAE): TRACKING TERTIARY PLANT MIGRATION, Evolution, 2005, 1685-1700. DOI: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2005.tb01818.x

A few notes on good, accessible places for information on species found in British Columbia, Canada. I plan to continue editing and adding to this.

Animals Etc...

• E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of Wildlife in British Columbia (UBC). online
• Search for documents: the site:https://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/documents/*

Birds

• Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia. online
• Rick Howie, "Birds of Kamloops, 2nd Ed.", 2003. online
• The Feather Atlas, US Fish & Wildlife Service. Search Tool | Browse

Amphibians

• Monica Pearson, Fraser Valley Frogs and Toads PDF

Arthropods (Insects, Bugs)

• BugGuide, hosted by Iowa State University Department of Entomology.
• Insecta Mundi
• Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification, produced by the Biological Survey of Canada & the Entomological Society of Canada.
• Biting flies attacking man and livestock in Canada (1985), Agriculture Canada. | Internet Archive copy
• Insects and Arachnids of Canada, Part 16: The Horse Flies and Deer Flies of Canada & Alaska (1990)
• https://diptera.info/
• The Ants of British Columbia (Rod Higgins, TRU)

Butterflies & Moths

• Pacific Northwest Moths at WWU.
• British Columbia Lepidopterists' Guild
• Annotated checklist of the moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Canada and Alaska, [PDF] | [Book]
• Checklist of the Lepidoptera of British Columbia, Canada (2015), [PDF]
• Chilcotin Moths
• Rob Cannings & Geoff Scudder, Checklist: Order LEPIDOPTERA in British Columbia, 2008.
• Moth Photographers Group, Plate system, Mississippi Entomological Museum at the Mississippi State University. cf: PNW region species list
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
• Jeffrey C. Miller & Paul C. Hammond, Butterflies and Moths of the Pacific Northwest Forests and Woodlands: Rare, Endangered, and Management-Sensitive Species, 2007, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), PDF.
• The Moths of the British Isles, First Series Comprising the Families Sphingidae to Noctuidae, 1907. - useful diagrams.
• Lafontaine, Wood: Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) of the Yukon, 1997

Vascular Plants

• William J. Cody & Donald M. Britton, Ferns and Fern Alies of Canada, Agriculture Canada (1989) | Internet Archive copy.
• David B. Lellinger , A field manual of the ferns & fern-allies of the United States & Canada (1985) (Internet Archive borrowable).
• Illustrated Flora of British Columbia (1998-2002). online
• E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia (UBC), species search page
• Burke Herbarium Image Collection (University of Washington), online
• Paul Handford, "A Seasonal Guide to the Flowering Plants of the Kamloops Area", 2016-2020. online
• Mike Ryan, "Plants of the Kamloops Area" [PDF]

Fungi

• Polypores of British Columbia [PDF]

Data Collections

• Canadensys. (explorer | main)
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility (CBIF). (main)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). (main)

Repositories

• Canadian National Collection: Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (database)
• Royal British Columbia Museum: Entomology Collection, Province of British Columbia (database)
• E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum, University of Alberta. (main)
• Spencer Entomological Collection | Beaty Biodiversity Museum, UBC. (database / main)