Citizen observations expose cryptic species

Combining DNA from museum and field specimens with thousands of community‑submitted photos can reveal species that were repeatedly misidentified in public datasets. When even large, conspicuous insects are hiding in plain sight, protecting threatened habitats becomes urgent because species may be lost before being described. — This reframes citizen science from passive monitoring to an essential tool for taxonomic discovery and conservation triage, with implications for funding, protected‑area prioritization, and public engagement.