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Butterflies and moths - demonstration of an interactive key |
This package was developed for hands-on demonstrations of the interactive identification and information retrieval program Intkey, at the open days of CSIRO Entomology. It works only for the particular set of 32 butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) used in the demonstrations, and can’t be used for general identification of butterflies or moths. It can be used by children aged 5 and older, but the youngest children, especially those who can’t read, will need help to get started.
The Intkey app is available at delta-intkey.com/www/programs.htm. There are versions for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.
After installing Intkey, you can run the key directly from the Web, or download the complete key (1.8MB) and run it from your local disk.
At the CSIRO open days for which the data were designed, actual specimens were used. In this Web version, the illustrations supplied with the data should be used as the ‘specimens’ to be identified. They are included when you download the complete key. If you are going to run the key directly from the Web, you can also view the illustrations directly from the Web, at full size or at half size (both 1.2MB – they use the same image files).
The length of the forewing is given at the bottom of each image.
N.B. The key won’t give correct results if you try to identify real butterflies or moths. The data describe only the illustrations supplied with the package. There are many more genera than the 32 included in the key, and the data don’t cover the full range of variability of the included genera.
Arrange the Intkey window and the browser window containing the images so that you can always see the ‘specimen’, like this:
Alternatively, you can print the images. The half-sized version takes 4 pages, and the one-third-sized version takes 2 pages.
Select a character. In the new window that is displayed,
select a character state. Repeat until only one taxon remains. To check your
result, press the 
button (Information about taxa).
More detailed instructions for using the key are available.
Cite this publication as: ‘Dallwitz, M.J., Paine, T.A., and Zurcher, E.J. 1997 onwards. Butterflies and moths - demonstration of an interactive key. Version: 22nd January 2020. delta-intkey.com’.
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