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 Back to Lucid Keys How to Use Lucid Keys Structure and format The Lucid keys have four panels. Each feature in the upper left Features Available panel is listed above two or more of its states (also referred to as feature states). For example, "straight or nearly so" and "at least slightly curved" are two states of the feature "Antennomere III shape." Depending on the viewing mode, each state is shown alongside or under a state illustration or icon. State illustrations are indicated by icons, thumbnails, or gallery view, depending on the display options you choose under Features > Display. Once a state has been chosen, it will appear in the lower left Features Chosen panel. The taxa that match the chosen features are displayed in the upper right Entities Remaining panel, while those that do not will be moved to the Entities Discarded panel in the lower right corner. Each taxon in Entities Remaining (possible family, subfamily, or tribe) is linked to a fact sheet webpage containing informational text and images. This page is indicated by a grey icon to the right of the image or image icon. Images for each taxon are indicated by icons or thumbnails, depending on the display options you choose. Clicking on an image thumbnail or icon opens an image window that provides access to all images linked to that entity or state. Making an identification: recommendations for using this tool’s interactive keys The first suggested step to take is to go to the Identify Cerambycoid Family: 1/3 page. Using simple characters, this page shows how to confirm your specimen is a cerambycoid beetle. Once you know that your specimen is a cerambycoid beetle, you can proceed to the Lucid Keys and Other Identification Aids. A good way of proceeding into the keys is to select what you believe is a strong character in your subject. You may also choose to use Lucid's "Best" feature, which will take you to the feature that will most effectively reduce the number of entities remaining. For this, go to "Features" and select "Best" from the menu, or select the "magic wand" icon in the menu bar. The features are organized (top to bottom) by body segment (head, thorax, abdomen), and general appearance, followed by geographic distribution and host plant families. The larval key to family and subfamily may not lead you to a single entity. Cerambycoid larvae in general are not well known, so they are not all well described in the literature, and specimens were not available for all subfamilies. Some subfamilies, such as those in Vesperidae, particularly lack such descriptive information, so you may not be able to eliminate these entities. This key is better used to eliminate possibilities from consideration than for making a tentative identification. For convenience, technical terms used in this tool are defined in the glossary; however, users may find it worthwhile to familiarize themselves with general morphological features such as frons, gena, mesosternal process, and so on, prior to starting the key. Understanding these terms will allow the user to navigate more effortlessly though the identification of a specimen. Using the associated media State illustrations Drawings used to illustrate the feature states were adapted from illustrations of particular species or are diagrammatic. They are intended to represent a range in appearance and are meant to be used as examples. In choosing a state, your specimen does not need to exactly match the state's illustration. Rather, choose the state to which your specimen looks the most similar. Exemplar taxa images Whenever possible, the type genus was photographed for each tribe. In addition, well-preserved specimens of other exemplar taxa were photographed for each tribe. Please note that the images provided do not necessarily reflect all known morphological variation within the tribe. Every diagnosis should be confirmed by carefully reviewing the information provided on the fact sheet. Fact sheet content A summary of each taxon is provided by clicking on the fact sheet icon next to each entity name. The following sections are included in each fact sheet:
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