Record review process  

Why do we want records?  Much remains to be learned about distribution and seasonal occurrence of odes.  In the case of  "species of concern", more data is vital to determine the existence and status of populations so that intelligent plans for conservation can be developed.  Since we know so little about odonates compared to many other critters, new discoveries are being made regularly.  Even common species pose many unanswered questions: when and where are they most common, why do numbers vary year to year, how many emergences do they have every year and the like.  The more information we can collect, the more we will know.

Odonate identification is in its infancy and there are many species that no one can identify with certainty in the field.  There may be diagnostic field marks but they are still to be discovered and described.  To expect anyone to identify all odes in the field with any degree of certainty is asking too much at our current level of knowledge.  IN some cases, for the data to be useful, a specimen may be required; while we aren't asking you to collect, you can click here to learn more about our position on collection and the NJOS collection.

While the NJOS members believe ode watching is a lot of fun and hope it continues to grow as a hobby, we have a specific mission in studying odes, to increase our knowledge of odonata and to provide data that can be used to further conservation efforts and preservation of habitat.  To fulfill this mission, the data must meet current scientific standards of verifiability or repeatability.  To do less would be to jeopardize the validity of all the data and its usefulness. 

So, please, don't be upset if we have to ask you for more details or if we cannot immediately include all of your records in the official database.  We have all had that tantalizing glimpse of something we are pretty sure was really good, but lacking a positive ID we have to wait, sometimes until next season, to try for confirmation.

When you submit a record, we will notify you after an initial review.  If additional confirmation is needed, NJOS members may assist you in gaining positive documentation.  When the record is placed in the database and published, you will be given credit for the initial sighting, even if someone else later provided the confirmation.  And, hey, when you misidentify something, we promise not to tell anybody and we will probably share a story or two with you about our own misidentifications.

Many hobbyists like to keep lists of things that they have seen and we encourage that.  But the NJOS is not and has no interest in becoming a list committee that rules on what is countable or not countable; our only concern is that any record we include in our database is scientifically verifiable.