Automated image-based taxon identification using deep learning and citizen-science contributions

The sixth mass extinction is well under way, with biodiversity disappearing at unprecedented rates in terms of species richness and biomass. At the same time, given the currentpace, we would need the next two centuries to complete the inventory of life on Earthand this is only one of the necessary steps toward monitoring and conservation of species. Clearly, there is an urgent need to accelerate the inventory and the taxonomic researchrequired to identify and describe the remaining species, a critical bottleneck. Arguably, leveraging recent technological innovations is our best chance to speed up taxonomic research. Given that taxonomy has been and still is notably visual, and the recent break-throughs in computer vision and machine learning, it seems that the time is ripe to exploreto what extent we can accelerate morphology-based taxonomy using these advances inartificial intelligence. Unfortunately, these so-called deep learning systems often requiresubstantial computational resources, large volumes of labeled training data and sophisticated technical support, which are rarely available to taxonomists. This thesis is devoted to addressing these challenges. In paper I and paper II, we focus on developing an easy-to-use (’off-the-shelf’) solution to automated image-based taxon identification, which is at the same time reliable, inexpensive, and generally applicable. This enables taxonomists to build their own automated identification systems without prohibitive investments in imaging and computation. Our proposed solution utilizes a technique called feature transfer, in which a pretrained convolutional neural network (CNN) is used to obtain image representations (”deep features”) for a taxonomic task of interest. Then, these features are used to train a simpler system, such as a linear support vector machine classifier. In paper I we optimized parameters for feature transfer on a range of challenging taxonomic tasks, from the identification of insects to higher groups --- even when they are likely to belong to subgroups that have not been seen previously --- to the identification of visually similar species that are difficult to separate for human experts. In paper II, we applied the optimal approach from paper I to a new set of tasks, including a task unsolvable by humans - separating specimens by sex from images of body parts that were not previously known to show any sexual dimorphism. Papers I and II demonstrate that off-the-shelf solutions often provide impressive identification performance while at the same time requiring minimal technical skills. In paper III, we show that phylogenetic information describing evolutionary relationships among organisms can be used to improve the performance of AI systems for taxon identification. Systems trained with phylogenetic information do as well as or better than standard systems in terms of common identification performance metrics. At the same time, the errors they make are less wrong in a biological sense, and thus more acceptable to humans. Finally, in paper IV we describe our experience from running a large-scale citizen science project organized in summer 2018, the Swedish Ladybird Project, to collect images for training automated identification systems for ladybird beetles. The project engaged more than 15,000 school children, who contributed over 5,000 images and over 15,000 hours of effort. The project demonstrates the potential of targeted citizen science efforts in collecting the required image sets for training automated taxonomic identification systems for new groups of organisms, while providing many positive educational and societal side effects

Chewing lice of genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera, Ricinidae) deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia, with description of a new species

We revised a collection of chewing lice deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia. We studied 60 slides with 107 specimens of 10 species of the genus Ricinus (De Geer, 1778). The collection includes lectotype specimens of Ricinus ivanovi Blagoveshtchensky, 1951 and of Ricinus tugarinovi Blagoveshtchensky, 1951. We registered Ricinus elongatus Olfers, 1816 ex Turdus ruficollis, R. ivanovi ex Leucosticte tephrocotis and Ricinus serratus (Durrant, 1906) ex Calandrella acutirostris and Calandrella cheleensis which were not included in Price’s world checklist. New records for Russia are R. elongatus ex Turdus ruficollis; Ricinus fringillae De Geer, 1778 ex Emberiza aureola, Emberiza leucocephalos, Emberiza rustica, Passer montanus and Prunella modularis; Ricinus rubeculae De Geer, 1778 ex Erithacus rubecula and Luscinia svecica; Ricinus serratus (Durrant, 1906) ex Alauda arvensis. New records for Kyrgyzstan are R. fringillae ex E. leucocephalos and ex Fringilla coelebs. A new record for Tajikistan is R. serratus ex Calandrella acutirostris. The new species Ricinus vaderi Valan n. sp. is described with Calandra lark, Melanocorypha calandra; from Azerbaijan, as a type host

Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler 1956

Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler, 1956 (Figs 12–18, 22–23, Table 1) Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler, 1956: 133. Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler, 1956; Nelson 1972: 111. Species inquirendae. Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler, 1956; Price et al. 2003: 251. Type host. Euphonia laniirostris hypoxantha von Berlepsch & Taczanowski, 1884 —Thick-billed euphonia (Passeriformes: Fringillidae) Type locality. Peru. Diagnosis. Ricinus tanagraephilus belongs to the subangulatus species-group (Nelson 1972) by having lunar nodi, monomorphic mandibles, evident ovoid sclerite with pit-like depressions, and pattern on terminal tergite of female iIIi x iIIi, but can be distinguished from Ricinus subangulatus (Carriker, 1903), Ricinus complicatus Carriker, 1964, Ricinus ramphoceli Nelson, 1972 and Ricinus volatiniae Nelson, 1972 by having setae a6 and 13 labial setae. Also, it differs from R. vireoensis and Ricinus wolfi Nelson, 1972 by having 3 setae on the parameres. Further, R. tanagraephilus differs from Ricinus subhastatus (Durrant, 1906) by having setae a6, and inner setae on pleurites VI–VIII small and pilose. Description. Head subconical, with straight lateral margins. Frons broadly convex; lateral margins divergent, not continuous with head lateral margin. Temple apices acute, hooked outside. Occipital margin nearly straight. Eyes not evident or slightly raised. Transverse carina present, convex. Lunar nodi present; tentorial nodi present, and lunar nodi nearly equal to tentorial. Mandibles monomorphic, blades long, thin and sharp needle-like, with tips notched; galea evident; basal lobe without finger-like process. Maxillary plates sausage-like; pigment pattern present; palpi geniculate, reaching the head margin. Ovoid sclerite evident, ornamentation deeply pitted. Gula with 2–3 pairs of setae; top of gular plate sclerite truncate; medial part without concavity; posterior projections present, directing posteriorly. Anterior margin of labium concave. The cf series composed of 10 setae; df series present; f1 evidently longer than f2; a1 far shorter than m4; with two associated sensilla; a3 absent; a4 present; a6 present; m1–m3 equal; m2 off the marginal carinae; m4 evidently longer than pa. Labium with 13 pairs of setae. Mental setae positioned laterally to each other. Mental setae shorter than maxillary. Preantennal setae strongly spinose. Setae along the antennal lappets 11–13. Two spinose and subequal postocular setae. Thorax. Prothorax hexagonal; anterior margin distinctly concave; lateral margins slightly notched; posterior margin concave. Posterolateral angles of prothorax evidently rounded. Prosternal sclerites thin, parallel, not joined. Anterior margin of sternal plate concave, without lateral depression; posterior angles straight. L3 present; L6 present; L5 larger than L4 and L6; L9 evidently shorter than L7 and L8; c4 present; c1 and c2 nearly equal; c2 spinose; c3 and c4 nearly equal; w series composed of 6 setae; anterior setae unequal. Long sternal setae situated medially on pterothorax 1; q series composed of 2 spines; q2 strongly spinose; q2 not shorter than w series; b1 evidently shorter than b2. Coxa I with 2 tactile setae; femur I with 2 tactile setae; femur II and III with present tactile setae. Abdomen. Lateral margin of abdomen nearly straight. Segment IX nearly equal to VIII. Pleural nodi on segment IX present; relatively wide; margins smooth; lateral part of abdominal pleurites lightly pigmented. Second ventral pleurite with 3 setae; II vps 1–3 large spinose; III vps 1–2 small spinose; III vps 3 small spine; IV vps 1 large spine; IV vps 2 long pilose; IV vps 3 large spine; V vps 1 small spine; V vps 3 small pilose; VI vps 1, 3 small pilose; VII vps 1, 3 small pilose; VIII vps 1 small pilose; VIII vps 3 small to medium pilose. Two pairs of setae on tergite VIII. Sternolateral setae not equal to sternocentral on sternites II–VI. Vulva with 11 setae. Abdominal segment IX with 2 long terminal setae. Male genitalia symmetrical; basal plate not narrow anteriorly; lateral margin slightly concave. Parameres triangular, with blunt endings. Mesosomal plate pigmented, lightly pointed and without medial extension. Three setae on the distal tips of the parameres. Dimensions. Female (n = 15). Head length 0.75–0.77; width 0.61–0.63; head index 120–124. Labrum width 0.30–0.32. Prothoracic length 0.37–0.38; width 0.58–0.59; ratio 0.63–0.66. Distance between prosternal setae 0.059–0.062. Abdominal width 1.01–1.05. Total length 3.70–3.78. Ratio of total length and abdomen width 3.60– 3.66. Male (n = 1). Head length 0.70; head width 0.59; head index 119. Labrum width 0.29. Prothoracic length 0.34; width 0.53; ratio 0.64. Distance between prosternal setae 0.062. Abdominal width 0.84. Total length 3.325. Ratio of total length and abdomen width 3.96. Length of male genitalia 0.48; width of mesosomal plate 0.188. Material examined. Holotype ♀, Perú, date unknown, von Koepcke Coll., slide WEC3066a (ZMHU). Non-types. Ex Euphonia laniirostris d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837: 1 ♂, 4♀, La Amistad Lodge, Las Tablas, Costa Rica (8°54’ N, 82°47’ W; 1300 m a.s.l.) 18–19 Aug. 2010, I. Literak, slides LT15a–b, LT65 [also 10♀, 9N in alcohol]. Remarks. Eichler’s (1956) brief description of R. tanagraephilus was based on one female only. Carriker (1964: 50) subsequently redescribed this species, but Nelson (1972: 111) examined the specimen from Euphonia laniirostris studied by Carriker (1964) and recognized it as a distorted specimen of R. marginatus. For that reason, Nelson (1972) designated R. tanagraephilus as a species inquirendae. We also examined Carriker’s specimen and we are able to confirm Nelson’s (1972) identification. Although our samples originated from a different country than the type locality of R. tanagraephilus and, therefore, also from a different subspecies of E. laniirostris than the type host, our comparison against the holotype of this louse species allowed us to confirm that this is a distinct and valid species of Ricinus. Also, we record and describe the male of R. tanagraephilus for the first time.Published as part of Valan, Miroslav, Sychra, Oldrich & Literak, Ivan, 2016, Redescriptions and new host records of chewing lice of the genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera: Ricinidae) from the Neotropical Region, pp. 179-189 in Zootaxa 4154 (2) on pages 184-187, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/26649

Redescriptions and new host records of chewing lice of the genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera Ricinidae) from the Neotropical Region.

Two species of the chewing louse genus Ricinus are redescribed and illustrated: Ricinus dalgleishi Nelson, 1972 from Helmitheros vermivorum (Gmelin, 1789), a new host-louse association, and Ricinus tanagraephilus Eichler, 1956 from Euphonia laniirostris d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837. Also, new host-louse associations are recorded for Ricinus vireoensis Nelson, 1972 from Vireo pallens Salvin, 1863, and for females of an unidentified species of Ricinus sp. from Corythopis delalandi (Lesson, 1831), which are described and illustrated

Chewing lice of genus

We revised a collection of chewing lice deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia. We studied 60 slides with 107 specimens of 10 species of the genus Ricinus (De Geer, 1778). The collection includes lectotype specimens of Ricinus ivanovi Blagoveshtchensky, 1951 and of Ricinus tugarinovi Blagoveshtchensky, 1951. We registered Ricinus elongatus Olfers, 1816 ex Turdus ruficollis, R. ivanovi ex Leucosticte tephrocotis and Ricinus serratus (Durrant, 1906) ex Calandrella acutirostris and Calandrella cheleensis which were not included in Price’s world checklist. New records for Russia are R. elongatus ex Turdus ruficollis; Ricinus fringillae De Geer, 1778 ex Emberiza aureola, Emberiza leucocephalos, Emberiza rustica, Passer montanus and Prunella modularis; Ricinus rubeculae De Geer, 1778 ex Erithacus rubecula and Luscinia svecica; Ricinus serratus (Durrant, 1906) ex Alauda arvensis. New records for Kyrgyzstan are R. fringillae ex E. leucocephalos and ex Fringilla coelebs. A new record for Tajikistan is R. serratus ex Calandrella acutirostris. The new species Ricinus vaderi Valan n. sp. is described with Calandra lark, Melanocorypha calandra; from Azerbaijan, as a type host

Ricinus dalgleishi

Ricinus dalgleishi Nelson, 1972 (Figs 1–6, 19, Table 1) Ricinus dalgleishi Nelson, 1972: 82, plate 22, figs 1–5. Ricinus dalgleishi Nelson, 1972; Price et al. 2003: 247. Type host. Geothlypis trichas (Linnaeus, 1766) —Common yellowthroat (Passeriformes: Parulidae) Type locality. State College, Mississippi, United States of America. Diagnosis. This species belongs to the marginatus species-group (Nelson 1972) by having lunar nodi, no ovoid sclerite evident, and mandibles without finger-like extension. By having 4 setae on the paramere apices, R. dalgleishi is distinguished from Ricinus marginatus (Children, 1836), Ricinus pallens (Kellogg, 1899), and Ricinus emersoni Nelson, 1972, which have 3 setae. Further, it differs from Ricinus dendroicae Nelson, 1972, Ricinus picturatus (Carriker, 1902) and Ricinus frenatus (Burmeister, 1838) in having setae a6, and from Ricinus flavicans Carriker, 1964, Ricinus seiuri Nelson, 1972 and Ricinus polioptilus Carriker, 1964 in having temple apices hooked outside. Description. Head subconical, with straight lateral margins. Frons narrowly convex; lateral margins convergent in the front and rounded; not continuous with head lateral margin. Temple apices acute, hooked outside. Occipital margin nearly straight. Eyes protruded. Transverse carina present; nearly straight. Lunar nodi present; tentorial nodi present; and lunar nodi nearly equal to tentorial. Mandibles monomorphic; blades long, thin and sharp needle-like; tips not notched; galea not evident; basal lobe without finger-like process. Maxillary plates sickle shaped (sausage-like); pigment pattern absent; palpi geniculate; not reaching the margin of head. Ovoid sclerite not evident. Gula with 2 pairs of setae; top of gular plate sclerite truncate; medial part with concavity; posterior projections present; directing posteriorly. Anterior margin of labium concave. The cf series composed of 10 setae; df series present; f1 evidently longer than f2; a1 far shorter than m4; with two associated sensilla; a3 absent; a4 present; a6 present; m1–m3 equal; m2 off the marginal carinae; m4 evidently longer than pa. Labium with 13 pairs of setae. Mental setae positioned laterally to each other. Preantennal setae strongly spinose. Setae along the antennal lappets 12–13. Three pilose, subequal postocular setae. Thorax. Prothorax hexagonal; anterior margin distinctly concave; lateral margins slightly notched; posterior margin concave. Posterolateral angles of prothorax slightly pointed. Prosternal sclerites thin, parallel, not joined. Anterior margin of sternal plate rounded, without lateral depression; posterior angles acute. L3 present; L6 present; L5 nearly equal to L4 and L6; L9 evidently shorter than L7 and L8; c4 present; c1 twice or more longer than c2; c2 pilose; c3 twice or more longer than c4; w series composed of 6 setae; anterior setae unequal. Long sternal setae situated medially on pterothorax 3; q series composed of 2 spines; q2 strongly spinose; q2 not shorter than w series; b1 evidently shorter than b2. Coxa I with 2 tactile setae; femur I with 2 tactile setae; femur II and III with present tactile setae. Abbreviations: a, dorsal setae on temples; ant. n., antennal nodi; b, dorsal setae on posterior margin; c, 4 pairs of dorsal setae on pterothorax; d, dorsal setae on head; dps, dorsal pleural setae; L, lateral prothoracic setae; lun. n., lunar nodi; m, dorsoventral setae on marginal carinae; max. palp., maxillary palpi; max., maxillary setae; ment., mental setae; pa, paraantennal setae; pm, paramental setae; po, postocular setae; pr, dorsal prothoracic setae; preant., preantennal setae; prst. pl., prosternal plate; prst. s., prosternal plate setae; ps. s., postspiracular setae; q, ventral and submarginal setae on pterothorax; sc, sternal central setae; sen., sensilla; sl, sternal lateral setae; spir., spiracle; st. s., sternal setae; t, dorso-lateral setae on temples; tent. n., tentorial nodi; term. s., terminal setae of tergite IX; VI–VIII, tergites; vps, ventral pleural setae; w, series of lateral setae on pterothorax. Scale bars are in mm. Note: Complete anal fringes are drawn as in Nelson (1972). Abdomen. Lateral margin of abdomen nearly straight. Segment IX nearly equal to VIII. Pleural nodi on segment IX present, relatively wide, margins smooth; lateral part of abdominal pleurites lightly pigmented. Second ventral pleurite with 3 setae; II vps 1–3 large spinose; III vps 1–2 small spinose; III vps 3 small spine; IV vps 1 large spine; IV vps 2 long pilose; IV vps 3 large spine; V vps 1 small spine; V vps 3 small pilose; VI vps 1,3 small pilose; VII vps 1,3 small pilose; VIII vps 1 small pilose; VIII vps 3 moderately long pilose. Two pairs of setae on tergite VIII. Sternolateral setae equal to sternocentral on II–VI sternites. Vulva with 4 setae. Abdominal segment IX with 2 long terminal setae. Male genitalia. Symmetrical, basal plate narrow anteriorly and lateral margin slightly concave. Parameres triangular, with blunt endings. Mesosomal plate pigmented, lightly pointed and without medial extension. Four setae on the distal tips of the parameres. Dimensions. Female (n = 8). Head length 0.66–0.67; width 0.59–0.60; head index 110–113. Labrum width 0.28–0.29. Prothoracic length 0.31–0.32. width 0.52–0.53, ratio 0.59–0.60. Distance between prosternal setae 0.063–0.072. Abdominal width 0.82–0.85. Total length 3.20–3.35. Ratio of total length and abdomen width 3.90– 3.94. Male (n = 6). Head length 0.60–0.62; head width 0.54–0.55; head index 111–113. Labrum width 0.24–0.25. Prothoracic length 0.29–0.31, width 0.46–0.47, ratio 0.63–0.66. Distance between prosternal setae 0.058–0.065. Abdominal width 0.73–0.74. Total length 2.95–3.00. Ratio of total length and abdomen width 4.04–4.05. Length of male genitalia 0.41–0.43. Width of mesosomal plate 0.160–0.168. Material examined. Paratypes. Ex Geothlypis trichas: 2♀, Pearlington, Mississippi, U.S.A., 3 Jun. 1910, G.G. Rohwer, slide Bish-29874 (Lot 40-14138); 1♀, Damarest, New Jersey, U.S.A., 20 May 1926, B.S. Bowdish; 5♀, Elmhurst, New York, U.S.A., 9 May 1932, M.V. Beals, slide Bish-19646; 2♀, Groton, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 21 May 1933, W.P. Wharton, slide Bish-21187; 1♀, New London, North Carolina, U.S.A., 4 Apr. 1945, R.C. Simpson. [Note: all these paratypes are held in the USNM]. Non types. Ex Helmitheros vermivorum (Gmelin, 1789) —Worm-eating warbler (Passeriformes: Parulidae): 2♂, 2♀, Utila Island, Islas de la Bahía, Honduras (16°06' N, 86°54' W), 23 Aug. 2014, I. Literak, slides UT22a–b [also 3♂, 2♀, 6N in alcohol]; 1♀, same collecting data as previous sample, 26 Aug. 2014, slide UT65; 1♂, 1♀, 2N, Marshall’s Pen, Mandeville, Jamaica, Feb. 1981, R. Dalgleish, slide 814 (USNM); 2♀ same collecting data as previous sample, 24–30 Dec. 1982 (USNM). Remarks. Ricinus dalgleishi was described by Nelson (1972) from females only. Our comparison of female paratypes of this species against females from Helmitheros vermivorum has shown that those from H. vermivorum are only slightly smaller, but without significant morphological differences. Therefore, we regard samples from both hosts as belonging to the same species. Considering that we have examined adult lice of both sexes and nymphs from two host individuals of H. vermivorum collected in two different localities, and that these specimens share the same morphological and morphometric characteristics, we confirm H. vermivorum as a natural and regular host for R. dalgleishi and establish it as new host-parasite association. Also, we record and describe the male of R. dalgleishi for the first time.Published as part of Valan, Miroslav, Sychra, Oldrich & Literak, Ivan, 2016, Redescriptions and new host records of chewing lice of the genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera: Ricinidae) from the Neotropical Region, pp. 179-189 in Zootaxa 4154 (2) on pages 180-182, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/26649

Ricinus vireoensis

Ricinus vireoensis Nelson, 1972 (Fig. 21, Table 1) Ricinus vireoensis Nelson, 1972: 95, plate 33, figs 1–6. Ricinus vireoensis Nelson, 1972; Price et al. 2003: 251. Type host. Vireo griseus (Boddaert, 1783) —White-eyed vireo (Passeriformes: Vireonidae) Type locality. Leon County, Florida, United States of America. Material examined. Ex Vireo pallens Salvin, 1863 —Mangrove vireo (Passeriformes: Vireonidae): 2♀, Utila Island, Islas de la Bahía, Honduras (16°06' N, 86°54' W) 27 Aug. 2014, I. Literak, slide UT87 [also 2♀, 4N in alcohol]. Ex Vireo olivaceus (Linnaeus, 1766) Red-eyed vireo (Passeriformes: Vireonidae): 3♀, Utila Island, Islas de la Bahía, Honduras (16°06' N, 86°54' W), 24 Aug. 2014, I. Literak, slide UT43 [also 7N in alcohol]. Remarks. Vireo pallens is an additional host species for R. vireoensis (see Price et al. 2003: 251), bringing the total number of known hosts for this louse species to eight. Bird family Bird species Country P A % Louse species ♀ ♂ N Totals Parulidae Helmitheros vermivorum Honduras 2/9 22.2 Ricinus dalgleishi * 5 5 6 1 6 Tyrannidae Corythopis delalandi Paraguay 1/10 10.0 Ricinus sp.* 2 - 2 4 Fringillidae Euphonia laniirostris Costa Rica 2/26 7.7 Ricinus tanagraephilus 14 1 9 24 Vireonidae Vireo pallens Honduras 1/9 11.1 Ricinus vireoensis * 4 - 4 8 Vireo olivaceus Honduras 1/12 8.3 Ricinus vireoensis 3 - 7 1 0Published as part of Valan, Miroslav, Sychra, Oldrich & Literak, Ivan, 2016, Redescriptions and new host records of chewing lice of the genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera: Ricinidae) from the Neotropical Region, pp. 179-189 in Zootaxa 4154 (2) on page 188, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4154.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/26649

Data from: Automated taxonomic identification of insects with expert-level accuracy using effective feature transfer from convolutional networks

Rapid and reliable identification of insects is important in many contexts, from the detection of disease vectors and invasive species to the sorting of material from biodiversity inventories. Because of the shortage of adequate expertise, there has long been an interest in developing automated systems for this task. Previous attempts have been based on laborious and complex handcrafted extraction of image features, but in recent years it has been shown that sophisticated convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can learn to extract relevant features automatically, without human intervention. Unfortunately, reaching expert-level accuracy in CNN identifications requires substantial computational power and huge training datasets, which are often not available for taxonomic tasks. This can be addressed using feature transfer: a CNN that has been pretrained on a generic image classification task is exposed to the taxonomic images of interest, and information about its perception of those images is used in training a simpler, dedicated identification system. Here, we develop an effective method of CNN feature transfer, which achieves expert-level accuracy in taxonomic identification of insects with training sets of 100 images or less per category. Specifically, we extract rich representations of intermediate to high-level image features from the CNN architecture VGG16 pretrained on the ImageNet dataset. This information is fed into a linear support vector machine classifier, which is trained on the target problem. We tested the performance of our approach on two types of challenging taxonomic tasks: (1) identifying insects to higher groups when they are likely to belong to subgroups that have not been seen previously; and (2) identifying visually similar species that are difficult to separate even for experts. For the first task, our approach reaches > 92 % accuracy on one dataset (884 face images of 11 families of Diptera, all specimens representing unique species), and > 96 % accuracy on another (2936 dorsal habitus images of 14 families of Coleoptera, over 90 % of specimens belonging to unique species). For the second task, our approach outperforms a leading taxonomic expert on one dataset (339 images of three species of the Coleoptera genus Oxythyrea; 97 % accuracy), and both humans and traditional automated identification systems on another dataset (3845 images of nine species of Plecoptera larvae; 98.6 % accuracy). Reanalyzing several biological image identification tasks studied in the recent literature, we show that our approach is broadly applicable and provides significant improvements over previous methods, whether based on dedicated CNNs, CNN feature transfer, or more traditional techniques. Thus, our method, which is easy to apply, can be highly successful in developing automated taxonomic identification systems even when training datasets are small and computational budgets limited

valan2018_latex

valan2018_late