Zoologist from Ukraine, competent in terrestrial molluscs of Europe and North Asia.

What I like the most about iN is its phone app that allows anyone to document nature easily at the scientific value level (with auto-detected coordinates and date). So this is what I'm mainly uploading here: the photos from my phone taken directly through the iN app, not necessary good photos, but photos that only intended to demonstrate the organism's characters required for the identification. Though I also like to "collect" taxa. My phone is Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro (till March 2021 - Xiaomi Redmi 3S, often with a cheap macro lens, iLens clip, now it's not needed with 10 Pro, great macro camera here). Also have Canon A650 and Nikon D7100, but not using them often to upload something here. I'm mainly using my Nikon with macro lens (Nikkor 60 f/2.8D) for the molluscs, not in the field, and nearly never uploading those photos here, but in November 2022 I've got an old Nikkor 75-300 and now occasionally using it to take some pics for iN (since January 2023 often with Tamron MC7 2x tele-converter).

What I don't like is when people are adding observations without precise coordinates. Please try to indicate coordinates with accuracy at least within 100 m when possible and make sure that it's correct and will not mislead someone later. Your observations could be interesting for the scientists and it's possible that someone will be trying to rediscover some species following your observations or will even use your observations in some sort of study.

Another thing that I don't like is when people are adding IDs above required for RG or just agreeing with previous IDs without actually identifying anything. Please don't do it.

Thanks to iN I've become fascinated with 3 very different groups of organisms that I was nearly ignoring earlier: lichens, leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) and leaf miners (mostly moths and flies-agromyzids). While I'm at a very basic level of identifying the first two groups, I'm trying to ID the leaf mines more seriously using the keys and descriptions from bladmineerders.nl (same with galls), but of course it's still at an amateur level, nowhere near to be an expert in this.

I've published 3 scientific papers based largely on the data from iNaturalist, all about expansions of the invasive terrestrial molluscs in Eastern Europe and elsewhere:

• Balashov I., Markova A. 2021. The first records of an invasive land snail Cepaea nemoralis (Stylommatophora: Helicidae) in Central and Southern Ukraine. Ruthenica, 31 (3): 121–125.
• Balashov I., Markova A. 2023. Expansion of the invasive Balkan slug Tandonia kusceri (Stylommatophora: Milacidae): A new frontier in Northern Ukraine and other new records. Folia Malacologica, 31 (1): 24–31.
• Balashov I., Markova A. 2023. A further northward expansion of the invasive land snails Monacha cartusiana and M. fruticola (Stylommatophora: Hygromiidae) in Eastern Europe. Folia Malacologica, 31 (1): 32–42.

iN project on terrestrial molluscs of Ukraine

My favorite observations with iN app:

• Dicranopalpus fraternus (Opiliones) - "iNaturalist's Observation of the Day"
• Rosalia alpina (Coleoptera)
• Mustela erminea (stoat, Mammalia)
• Paranemastoma kochi (Opiliones)
• Molorchus kiesenwetteri (Coleoptera)
• ant infected by Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Trematoda)
• Melampyrum saxosum (Plantae)
• ancient Pinus cembra (Plantae)
• primary forest of Picea abies (Plantae)
• Xanthomendoza huculica (Lecanoromycetes)
• Carychium minimum (Gastropoda)

My page

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