Reference sites

As you can imagine, not everything on this site is the product of my ingenious mind alone, and I've got my science from somewhere. Here's a list of the sites I visit regularly, sites I really appreciate, sites whose authors have put a lot of effort, passion and often a culture that impresses and delights me (I like to frequent people who are more cultured or more intelligent than I am, I always hope that a little of their knowledge and genius will “trickle down” to me). My pages contain at least one link to one of these sites. So the reference sites::

Site	Very personal comment
Le monde des insectes = The world of insects Type: Forum + Documentation Subject: Insects, arachnids, springtails, crustaceans, myriapods... Authors/Administrators: Team of 4 managers (technical admin and global moderators) + many other moderators	It's the French and even French-speaking reference, even if there are some excellent Belgian and Canadian sites... If a bug is identified on this site, it's solid. If it isn't, you may have doubts as to whether your observation is identifiable with the elements at your disposal, or whether you've stumbled upon a “terra incognita”, a group of living creatures still insufficiently known and studied, not necessarily all listed on the site and sometimes on no site at all.
Gallery of the Monde des insectes Type: Pages + Huge photo galleries Subject: Insects, arachnids, springtails, crustaceans, myriapods... Authors/Administrators: Team of managers also in charge of the forum	The number of species listed is enormous, and the photographs are numerous. This is the place to go for visual identification of species (not just insects, but also springtails, arachnids, crustaceans and many other classes of bugs). And there's a lot to discover in the process. I like the popup previews of the various families when you hover over their names with the mouse. On the downside, because it's so huge and there are so many images, in order for the galleries to be displayed quickly enough, the previews are necessarily reduced in size, which sometimes makes identification work difficult or tedious (forcing you to display each image at full size to be able to decide, then close again to return to the gallery). And faced with the problem of storage and throughput, even full-size images are reduced in size and quality.
INPN - Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel = National Inventory of Natural Heritage Type: Pages + Search engine + Tools Subject: All living species, animals, plants, fonguses... Authors/Administrators: National governance	Not the most user-friendly nor the fastest of sites, but it's enormous, listing all the living from France, i.e. the French West Indies, French Guiana, Reunion, Tahiti... It's a mine of information that you have to learn to dig into, where I really go if necessary, if I need specific information that I know I can find there and sometimes nowhere else.
Les carnets nature de Jessica = Jessica's nature notebooks Type: Pages + Photo galleries + Documentation Subject: Mainly insects and other arthropods, but we find there many other animals, plants, mushrooms... Authors/Administrators: Jessica Joachim	I really like Jessica's site, she's an enthusiast who knows how to communicate serious information clearly, illustrated by quality photographs. I often go through her site first to identify an insect, because while there are of course some uncommon species, there are the most widespread species, so there's a good chance of recognizing what you've observed/captured/photographed. Its illustrations show, where necessary, the visual criteria for identification/distinction.
Quel est cet animal ? = What is this animal? Type: Pages + Search engine + Documentation Subject: The site name says all, even if insects are well represented Authors/Administrators: Michel Mathieu (content) and François Mathieu (IT)	You can't miss this site either, created by an enthusiast. Its name indicates what it was originally designed for. I regularly come across it when I search for an animal species in a search engine.
Lépi-Net Type: Pages + Search engine + Species inventory by department (= French region) + Documentation Subject: Lépi? Butterflies! Authors/Administrators: Philippe Mothiron, experienced lepidopterist, and several contributors	Excellent reference for butterflies, quality photos. I don't spend much time on it, simply because most butterfly families are easy to identify.
Aramel - Les Insectes = Aramel - Insects Type: Pages + Videos Subject: All is in the title Authors/Administrators: Alain Ramel	I used to visit this site a lot in the early days, because it mainly contained species from France, i.e. those I encountered most often. The hierarchy of taxonomy is difficult to follow, between the menu written far too small on the left and the pages numbered in a convoluted way as the site has expanded. But it does teach you things, and at some point I need to return to it when I'm having trouble identifying a local species.
Odonates costarmoricains = Costarmorican odonates Type: Pages + Photo galleries Subject: Dragonflies, damselflies... Authors/Administrators: Not mentionned	With maximum 50 odonata species in Côtes d'Armor, it is a small site. But because odonata are insects both well visible and photogenic, I visited this site many times with interest.
Oiseaux.net = Birds.net Type: Pages + Documents + Identification help + Forum... Subject: Like the name indicates: fishes! [Just kidding] Authors/Administrators: Association «Écopains d'abord» = «EFriends first», 408 members	Site built in a cooperative and serious way by dedicated passionnates.
Collemboles.fr Type: Pages + Photo galleries + Documents + Articles Subject: Collemboles from France, most precisly from Occitania Authors/Administrators: Philippe Garcelon	Philippe Garcelon has chosen this little-known field, far from the media and even scientific spotlights, and provide us with a meticulous inventory of the species in his region, as well as well-documented articles conducive to wider reflection, to better understand the environment and assess the impact of human actions. 127 species listed, an essential reference for species in metropolitan France.
True hopper of the WP Type: Pages + Photo galleries Subject: Western Palearctic Auchenorrhyncha! (cicadas, leafhoppers...) Authors/Administrators: Marco de Haas and an European team	A must-see reference for these often little-known insect families.
Atlas Hymenoptera Type: Pages + Documentation Subject: As the name says: hymenopteras (bees, wasp, ants...) Authors/Administrators: Several Belgian teams were joined by collaborators from France, Spain and Turkey	A solid reference about hymenoptera.
BugGuide Type: Pages + Images galeries + Forum Subject: For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin, hor the United States & Canada Authors/Administrators: by Iowa State University Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, managed by a team of dedicated naturalists	A serious cooperative work, a must-have reference for all kind of North-American bugs. And because these animals are also in Europe, I had several times to check on this site for information.
BirdLife International Type: Pages + Publications + Maps + Tools Subject: Birds and birds Authors/Administrators: It is an international Non-Governmental Organization dedicated to the protection of nature in general and birds in particular. It brings together other NGOs and thousands of amateur naturalists, as well as professional ecologists and ornithologists, scientists and nature conservation managers.	An essential reference for birds from all over the world, not just the UK, where the NGO originated.