3 replies to this topic

[JoeByron]

Do any of you have suggestions on helping you narrow down what you are working with?

 

[antgallery]

You get more experienced at IDing as you collect more species. A way you could study is by simply reading journals of people that live near you, because the ants they are catching will more than likely be the ants you're catching too.

[OiledOlives]

Just keep trying to identify ants on sites like iNaturalist, Discord, or Formiculture and you'll learn from the mistakes you make. I got better at identification pretty quickly after constantly using iNat for a couple months after two years of identifying on Discord.

[gcsnelling]

Get literature relevant to you part of the country, learn to use keys, get a halfway decent microscope. Inat has some good people that Id the ants but there is a great tendency to Id to species when genus is as far it should be taken. Admittedly I have made more than a couple Id mistakes myself. It takes practice, lots of practice.