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Type of site | Entomology, Citizen science |
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Available in | English |
Area served | North America |
Owner | Iowa State University |
Founder(s) | Troy Bartlett |
URL | bugguide |
Commercial | No |
Registration | not required, except to comment and post |
Launched | 2003 |
Current status | Online |
BugGuide (or BugGuide.net) is a website and online community of naturalists, both amateur and professional, who share observations of arthropods such as insects, spiders, and other related creatures.[1] The website consists of informational guide pages and many thousands of photographs of arthropods from the United States and Canada which are used for identification and research.[2] The non-commercial site is hosted by the Iowa State University Department of Entomology. BugGuide was conceived by photographer Troy Bartlett in 2003 and since 2006 has been maintained by John VanDyk, an adjunct assistant professor of entomology and a senior systems analyst at Iowa State University.[3] The website has been recognized for helping change the public perception of insects.[4]
According to gardening author Margaret Roach, "The site is where naturalists of all levels share photos of 'insects, spiders and their kin' to foster enthusiasm and expand the knowledge base about these often-overlooked (and as BugGuide points out, 'oft-maligned') creatures."[5]