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\f0\b\fs24 \cf2 \cb3 BY STEVEN SPARKMAN \b0 \
\ If you spend your time snapping photos of
cool bugs in your yard, you might inadvertently be helping science. That\'92s what happened
when entomologist Shaun Winterton discovered a new species of insect while surfing the
web. {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.nbcbayarea.com/"}}{\fldrslt \cf4 \ul \ulc4 KNTV explains}}.\
\
\b \'93Earlier this year, Winterton was looking at bug pictures on Flickr \'85 He saw this
picture, realized it was a brand new species of insect. \'85 And so now we have a new species
of insect thanks to Flickr.\'94 \b0 \
\ The photos of the new lacewing were taken
by Malaysian photographer Hock Ping Guek. Guek tells the story on his blog, {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
"http://orionmystery.blogspot.com/2012/08/semachrysa-jade-new-lacewing-species.html"}}{\fldrslt \cf4 \ul \ulc4 Up Close with Nature}}.\
\
\b \'93A few lacewing experts came across images of this lacewing \'85 and informed
me that this could be a new species. Luckily, I came across this beautiful species again
... Specimen was captured and sent to Mr. Winterton for description...\'94
\b0 \ \
The photographer and two scientists co-authored a paper on the discovery. The new bug was
dubbed Semachrysa jade, after Winterton\'92s daughter Jade. {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
"http://io9.com/5933986/this-new-species-of-insect-was-discovered-on-flickr"}}{\fldrslt \cf4 \ul \ulc4 A writer for io9}} says the
unusual story is a testament to the web.\ \
\b \'93This incident points to the power of image hosting services as image crowdsourcing.
Guek took the photo in Malaysia \'85 Winterton was likely in California ... But thanks to
Flickr, they performed a completely unexpected collaboration.\'94
\b0 \ \
Not only did the trio collaborate from around the world, they even co-wrote the paper on
different continents via Google Docs. {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/08/11/158570034/a-new-species-discovered-on-flickr"}}{\fldrslt
\cf4 \ul \ulc4 Winterton told NPR}} this kind of global collaboration is only going to become
more common.\ \
\b \'93The moral of the story? The world is full of potential naturalists ... More and
more people using high-quality cameras that capture the kind of detail scientists need
for identification, and they are sharing these photos online.\'94
\b0 \ \
The paper was published in the Journal ZooKeys.\cb1 \
}