Accidental discovery of new insects through Flickr

In May last year, Malaysian photographer Guek Hock Ping took a few pictures of a ribbed insect and shared it on his personal Flickr site.

The entomologist Shaun Winterton could see it but didn't notice the difference between the blue and black markings on its wing. He sent the photo to his colleague but they did not know what kind of insect it was. Since then, Mr. Winterton thought that this was a new insect. He found the photographer Guek to find out. But Guek just took a picture and the insect flew away, not knowing what it was.

Strange insects that photographer Guek Hock Ping can capture

A year later, photographer Guek was happy to contact Mr. Winterton saying he had returned to the area and found an insect similar to the one in 2011. Guek took the picture and kept it carefully. .

Later, this winged insect was sent to Steve Brooks, the insect historian of the Museum of Natural History in London. He confirmed it to be a new insect that humans never knew. He also saw a similar specimen in the museum he worked in, which has not been classified for decades.

The entomologist Shaun Winterton named this new insect after his daughter Semachrysa Jade .

In the scientific document published on GoogleDocs, the names of three co-authors: Winterton, Brooks, and Guek.

So Flickr is not only a photo sharing place, but also a place where people discovered a new insect for natural science.

Reference: The verge