Thank you for pointing me in the right direction in terms of where to post. The article helped a lot. I was just so nervous about my first trial at identification myself (and never thought about going to help because clicking buttons worked).

Another question... If the picture isn't great, but I'd still like identification, should I go ahead and and put in the guide at the level I am SURE of, then send it to frass after someone has identified it?

And.... is important to have pictures that only add to the guide in the sense of reporting a new location? In other words, a good picture, but there are so many others that the image is redundant, but not the location?

And many of them don't have concrete answers. You probably would get a slightly different response from every person you asked on this site! My own personal opinion is that moving images of unidentified insects that are not very high-quality directly into the guide is fine... BUT, this only works well when contributors are diligent about going back and reviewing those images once they've received an ID -- taking the time to frass them if they are no longer useful (Ron is a great example of someone who does this.) Lately, there seems to be an increasing trend (as per the article Ron pointed you to) towards moving images rather quickly from ID Request to some general point in the guide (like Flies, or Beetles...). So, if you didn't do it yourself, someone probably would end up doing it for you.

Your second question is a much more hotly debated one! Again, I can only offer you my personal opinion, as there is no hard and fast rule. I tend to support the notion of having a photo on record for the state and month in which an insect may have been sighted, particularly in situations where there is limited information given about their range and seasonal occurrence. In certain cases, like documenting the spread of a new exotic species, or for very range restricted species (like some butterflies, for example), I could see an argument for including photos to represent individual counties within a state, but in general I haven't really considered documenting most things at this level. A very large portion of people on this site are in support of accumulating as much data as possible, while an equally large number of people would like to see the majority of sub-par photos removed entirely in favor of a stream-lined high-quality field guide approach. I suggest that you read a few of the archived discussions in the forums on this subject and try to make up your own mind. Just be prepared that at some point there will probably be an editor who decides to frass one (or more) of your images if they don't see the value. Don't be frightened by this prospect though! If you feel that the image is of value, simply politely state your reasons and ask the editor for an explanation (if none is provided). Often times, editors will acquiesce on the issue, or another editor may jump in to defend your image. None of it is worth getting too serious or upset about. I say, lead with your heart, and then try not to be too sensitive if someone down the road doesn't agree with your choice. We're a varied and sometimes motley crew here at BugGuide, but we all enjoy ourselves and make it work in the end.

Thanks, Harsi.

I am learning so much. I'm loving it.