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Data / Species list

Dictionaries - what they are for #

Dictionaries are your private lists of things that repeat across your records: taxa, host plants and sites. A record does not keep its own copy of a species name; it points to an entry in your dictionary. One name is stored once, and all records of that taxon stay consistent.

Open in the app #

In short #

  • Usually you do not add anything by hand. When you pick a taxon from the suggestions in the record form, ENTOMONE adds it to your list together with its genus and family.
  • Your dictionary is private. Your names, corrections and links do not change other users' lists.
  • The name is yours. ENTOMONE does not rename your identification on its own, even if iNaturalist or the Catalogue of Life uses a different name.
  • Dictionaries are a place for review and corrections, not a required step before adding a record.

Why dictionaries were introduced #

The application originally had one shared species list. Private dictionaries separated each user's names and corrections. The manual family -> genus -> species forms predate the current iNaturalist suggestions and CoL XR classification. The iNaturalist publishing integration developed in parallel - not every part of that integration is newer than dictionaries.

Today, selecting a taxon in the record form is enough to maintain your private list. Building a hierarchy by hand is no longer a required step, but stable local taxon identities and your own identifications remain necessary.

How dictionaries work #

When you type a taxon in the record form, suggestions come from:

  1. your dictionary - names you already use,
  2. iNaturalist - names needed to publish observations,
  3. Catalogue of Life (CoL XR) - the reference catalogue ENTOMONE uses for classification, such as the family.

If your local entry has no iNaturalist ID yet, and an iNat result has the same full name, rank and family confirmed by its stored taxonomy tree, the suggestion shows them together. The link is saved only after you select that suggestion and save the record. When evidence is insufficient or conflicting, the sources stay separate - ENTOMONE does not guess an ID from the name alone.

After you pick a suggestion and save the record, ENTOMONE:

  • adds the taxon to your list, or reuses the entry you already have,
  • sets the family from the taxonomic tree,
  • keeps the link to iNaturalist needed for publishing,
  • keeps the link to the Catalogue of Life used for classification and searching by higher ranks.

Each source has its own role. Your dictionary holds your name and your records. The Catalogue of Life provides the classification. iNaturalist is used to publish observations.

Why keep dictionaries when iNaturalist and the Catalogue of Life exist #

  • A record needs a stable reference. Names in external services change. Your record points to your dictionary entry, and that entry holds the links to iNaturalist and the Catalogue of Life.
  • Not every identification exists in an external catalogue. Partial identifications such as Cerambyx sp. or Cerambyx cf. cerdo are a normal part of an entomologist's work, not an exception. iNaturalist and the Catalogue of Life do not store them; your dictionary does.
  • Your identification comes first. If a specialist deliberately keeps a subspecies or another interpretation, ENTOMONE does not replace it automatically with a name from an external source.
  • One correction covers all records. Fix the spelling or the author once in the dictionary and the change applies to all your records of that taxon.
  • The data is yours and private. The list keeps working when an external service is temporarily unavailable.

When you need to open Dictionaries #

  • Adding a record with a recognised taxon - nothing to do. Pick the taxon from the suggestions in the record form.
  • Partial identification (sp., cf.) or a name missing from the suggestions - type it directly in the taxon field of the record form. ENTOMONE saves it to your list.
  • A typo or a wrong author in a name used in many records - correct the entry on the My taxa tab.
  • Older names without an iNaturalist link that you want to publish - use the iNat mapping tab.
  • Checking which taxa you have and how many records each has - My taxa tab, filter above the list.
  • Plants on which you observe insects or rear them - Host plants tab.
  • Places where you work regularly - Sites tab.

What each tab contains #

  • Families - families on your list. They are usually created automatically from the taxonomic tree.
  • My taxa - your identifications with record counts, separate iNaturalist and CoL XR states, and a warning for conflicting mappings. An absent link does not mean the local name is wrong. The filter only searches; it does not add names.
  • iNat mapping - linking older names that do not yet have an iNaturalist link.
  • Sites - regular working places in the active dataset.
  • Host plants - the host plant dictionary with an optional Catalogue of Life link.

Partial identifications and your own annotations #

You can keep your own wording in the taxon field. Automatic interpretation requires the entire identification to match a supported form:

  • Cerambyx sp. - identification to genus.
  • Cerambyx cf. cerdo - resembles the named species, without confirming a species identification.
  • Cerambyx aff. cerdo - close to the named species, without confirming a species identification.
  • Cerambyx indet. or Cerambycidae indet. - identification stopped at the stated level. indet. is not equivalent to cf.; a family does not become a genus.

The older suffix forms Cerambyx cerdo cf. and Cerambyx cerdo aff. are also supported. A qualifier is not a species epithet.

Before publishing or updating on iNaturalist, the stored taxonomic tree must confirm the correct target. sp., cf. and aff. use the genus; indet. uses the confirmed rank. The complete local identification is retained as an annotation in the observation description. A suffix or a similar name alone does not establish a link.

Labels such as Cerambyx (maybe), Xylotrechus/Clytus or Cerambyx WHATEVER remain your own text. ENTOMONE does not automatically extract a genus or publish them as partial identifications. To publish, deliberately select a confirmed taxon or use a supported identification form.

Cerambyx n. sp. and Cerambyx sp. n. denote a new, unnamed species. These entries cannot be published or updated on iNaturalist, even at genus level.

In Dictionaries, edit a partial identification or free text in one complete identification field. Changes affect all records using that entry. Existing entries are not automatically rewritten or merged.

Shared datasets #

The taxon of a record always belongs to the dictionary of the record owner. If you edit another person's record in a shared dataset, the taxon does not move to your dictionary and their list does not change.

Editing and deleting #

A change to a dictionary entry applies to all records that use it. Check the number of records next to the name before you change it.

ENTOMONE prevents deleting a family used by active records, including references through a species or genus. An older family value on a record does not bypass this protection. A rejected deletion changes neither records nor dictionary entries.