Identifier Profile: @k8thegr8

This is the twenty-fourth entry in an ongoing monthly (or kind of monthly!) series profiling the amazing identifiers of iNaturalist.

Since 2016, Kate Farkas (@k8thegr8) has been adding identifications to iNat observations, to the tune of over 319k verifiable observations identified, putting her in the top three of lepidoptera identifiers of North America! But what’s really impressive is that she focuses not on adult leps, but rather caterpillars, for which there is less information. 

Born in Houston, Texas, Kate’s family was involved with the oil business so her childhood was spent in quite a few places, such as Anchorage, Alaska, and Aberdeen, Scotland. “I've always been interested in the biological sciences,” she tells me, 

doing science summer camps and participating in state science fairs. Biology and critters have always been my passion. I remember playing with a snail that had been in my pocket during a school tornado drill at about age 6, and being impressed that the sky was green when I went to take it outside. My parents always encouraged our family to be in nature, especially camping and hiking.

About fifteen years ago Kate got into nature photography, which piqued her interest in insects, as they’re encountered so frequently in nature. However, she’s into it all, and will photograph anything that moves (as well as plants, fungi, and other non-animals).

I was first introduced to iNaturalist at a moth night in Midlothian that was sponsored by the hospital that I worked for. The moth night was led by Sam Kieschnick (@sambiology), our rockstar urban biologist for Dallas/Fort Worth. I got the app and was browsing people's finds soon after. Through Sam and iNaturalist, I have met so many naturalists in Texas, and many other entomologists around the US and Great Britain. I have been honored to collect and send larvae to entomologists around the country as part of their research (under FDA permits). An unusual phenotype of the Hagen's sphinx larva was described and published because I sent some weird looking caterpillars to @teamontagna for her sphinx moth research. I labeled them incorrectly and everything! 

While she currently works in diagnostic imaging, Kate's other main interest is in trying to complete life cycles of lepidoptera, hence her interest in caterpillars. “There are so many known species of butterflies and moths that have very little known about their larvae and hostplants,” she explains. “I don't have any official training in Lepidoptery but I have a bachelor's degree in general biology. That just means I took every biology class available in college. I've learned so much with the help of John and Jane Balaban (@thebals), Marc Epstein (@marcepstein), and many other iNaturalists.”

When it comes to identifying iNat observations, Kate does it a few times a week, searching for lepidoptera of North America and then using references to help her out. 

I use everything from BugGuide, the Janzen website for Costa Rican lepidoptera, Moth Photographers Group, to the ID guide books by David Wagner, the published fascicles available at the Wedge Entomological Research Foundation under the publications tab, updates in the Lep Society magazines and some specialized butterfly ID books like Caterpillars in the Field and Garden.

I have a particular interest in dagger moths and prominent moths, but anything rare is awesome. Anyone near me when I'm viewing the caterpillars will roll their eyes when I gasp at a rare observation for a Clio tiger moth, or Phaeton primrose sphinx.

I love finding observations that are unknown species. The family and sometimes genus are identifiable, so I can go wandering around and figure out which adults don't have documented larval forms. I have been successful in matching range maps for suspected host plants and caterpillars. One determined iNat user @royaltyler even raised and confirmed the suspected larva for Pygarctia abdominalis and its host plant. I had suspected a group of observations were that species for several years.

If you’re photographing a caterpillar, Kate recommends getting at least three photos: one the top of the caterpillar, one of the side showing all the sets of legs, and a photo of the face (aka head capsule). It’s also really important to note the host plant (or make an observation of the host plant and get it identified on iNat). Even then, she reminds us that not all caterpillars (or adults) can be identified to the species level from photos alone. 

Sometimes, caterpillars can't be identified to the species level. Fairly commonly, caterpillars of similar species can't be told apart unless the caterpillar is reared and documented.  Some entire genus levels of caterpillars look exactly the same, like in the Eupithecia species of pug moths.  If the caterpillars eat all the same foods and are in the same region, we just can't know which it is unless it's raised to adulthood.  The same can be said for adult moths and butterflies. The two species Halysidota tessellaris and Halysidota harrisii can't be told apart as adults, unless they're dissected.  But the caterpillars of those are easy to tell apart!  Sometimes one line, or tuft of hair is all that indicates different species of caterpillars. All of the great identifiers on the website get the ID as close as possible, but it can be frustrating to get a family instead of a species level identification.  

Some of those groups are the underwing moths, tiger moths, tortricid leafroller moths, and some of the flower moths. The pug moths (Eupithecia) are reported to have up to 160 species in North America, but can only be identified through genetic sequencing in a lot of cases. 

Even with those challenges, Kate keeps at it:

If I can get one person to care about insects, all the hours ID-ing will be worth it.  The insect world is vital to the ecosystem, and it seems like all people can do is think of them as pests. Caterpillars are a gateway to caring about insects, as they are generally considered harmless, except for the stinging ones of course. I would love people to appreciate the miraculous and complex world of life around us.

- look for another caterpillar-related post on the iNat Blog in a few days!

- check out past Identifier Profiles of lepidoptera identifiers, @darielsaqui and @michelledelaloye, here and here!

- take a look at our interview with @sambiology, as well as a recent video about his work with iNat from Texas Parks and Wildlife!

If you have someone in mind to be featured in an Identifier Profile, please message @tiwane.

- if you're not a specialist but want to help get observations in front of those who are, you can use the Identify tool to refine observations!

- and you can also use the Identify page to annotate observations, such as labelling lepidoptera observations as adults, caterpillars, pupae, or eggs. Here's a search for all lepidoptera that are missing a Life Stage annotation.

Posted on July 3, 2024 04:14 PM by tiwane