These best practices were adapted from the Lucid Player Help pages as well as from Lucid training workshops. You can access the complete Lucid Player Help pages by clicking on your key's question mark button (the right-most button in the key's menu bar).
You may be using Lucid to identify an unknown pest or taxon; in Lucid and on this page, these are called Entities. You’ll be using Lucid while looking at a specimen. Here we’ll refer to this as a “specimen.” Likewise, to perform your identification you will choose the Lucid characters or characteristics that match what you’re looking at, which in Lucid and on this page, are called features and their states.
During an identification session, Lucid allows you to choose any feature's state from the Features Available list at any time. However, "stepping" through the key in a structured and sensible way will make your task of identification more efficient. Below are recommendations for increasing your efficiency and decreasing the amount of time required for identifying an unknown specimen using a Lucid key.
First, become familiar with the features of the specimen you wish to identify. If you are also familiar with the key in this tool, then you may already know many of the specimen's features. Briefly reviewing these features before you start will make it easier for you to proceed through the identification.
Some entities may possess particularly distinctive features and/or states. Use of these may allow the entity to be keyed out in just a few steps. At the very least, starting with any particularly distinctive or striking features your specimen may possess may quickly reduce the list of Entities Remaining.
Browse the list of Features Available and address easy features first. The principles of dichotomous keys, in which the couplets must be answered in a preset order, are very familiar to most key users who often automatically apply these principles to a matrix key. Although Lucid lists the features of a key in an initial sequence in the opening window, this does not mean that the features must be selected in that order. You can select any feature from any position in the list. (Note that in some keys, where positive dependencies are used, you may be forced to choose state(s) from specific features before others become available.)
Most Lucid keys will have a wide variety of features, ranging from obvious and simple features to features that may be minute or difficult to interpret. Always start by browsing the list of Features Available for obvious features that you can quickly answer, as opposed to getting stuck on the first one. Lucid is designed to overcome problems associated with difficult features.
In looking through the features, you may not be sure which state of a feature to choose, or a feature or state may not be clear on your specimen. Skipping the feature entirely in such cases is always an option.
As you work through the list of Features Available, you may find some features or feature states that you do not understand. If so, review any explanatory notes and/or illustrations that may be associated with the features and states. In fact, it is a good idea to check the notes and illustrations before using any feature for the first time, and to become familiar with these for all the features.
You can always choose multiple states (more than one state of a feature) if you are uncertain which state is the correct one to choose for a particular specimen. Lucid is designed to allow you to choose as many states as you require from any one feature (if, for example, your specimen is in between two states, or exhibits two or more states). Within the program's logic, these states will be connected by an "or" link. This will cause Lucid to search for all entities with any of the states you select. As a general rule, if you are unsure which of two or more states your specimen has, then choose them all. That way, you can be sure that your target entity will remain in Entities Remaining.
When you have dealt with all the obvious features, use Lucid's "Best" function (the "magic wand" icon) to suggest the remaining feature that will give you the most efficient next step. The Best algorithm will assess which of the remaining features and states available will best reduce the list of Entities Remaining. Clicking the Best button will cause the Player to move to and open the best available feature. Press the button repeatedly to navigate through the Features list, if you have difficulty addressing the first feature nominated. If the list of entities in Entities Remaining changes after choosing a feature as suggested by Best, you should click the Best button again to recalculate the best feature to address next.
You may find other Lucid4 tools helpful while navigating feature choices, such as Shortcuts, Prune Redundants, and Differences (available on the key's menu bar). Explanations about how to use these functions are available through the Lucid Player Help menu.
This will happen sooner or later in one of your Lucid sessions. If no entities are listed in the Entities Remaining window, then it simply means that no entities in the database match the set of states you have selected. Several explanations are possible, but these are some of the most common:
Whichever of the above situations is suspected, you must very carefully review your chosen features and determine which ones you are uncertain about. Try unselecting uncertain states one by one to see what effect each has. One or more entities may move back into the Entities Remaining window. In difficult cases, you may need to "play" with the key, adding or deleting states progressively to try to find the best matching entity.
Never assume that you will always end up with just one entity remaining. Some entities in the key may be very hard to differentiate, except when using difficult or obscure features. Sometimes, after you have addressed all the features, you may have a short list of entities remaining instead of just one entity. You are still much closer to an identification than you otherwise would have been. You may then have to carefully check your specimen against associated information (descriptions, images, etc. for the remaining entities) or refer to more advanced or specialist reference sources.
In some cases, if you have a short list of entities remaining but have not addressed all the features, it may be easier to check your specimen against information associated with these remaining entities. This can sometimes be faster than trying to find a feature that will discriminate among the remaining entities. If your specimen does not look similar to any of the entities remaining, you can use the same strategy described above, of unselecting states one by one, or "playing" with the key, to find the best matching entity.
Once you have made a preliminary identification, check the other information (descriptions from the fact sheet or the image gallery) provided for the entity. Getting a possible name for an entity from a key is not the end of an identification. You may have made errors, or your specimen may be an entity that is not in the key. In these cases, the key may have provided you with the wrong name. The associated information will often give you a good indication as to whether the answer is correct.
The adult key is navigated by clicking in a checkbox next to the feature state. Chosen features are displayed in the bottom left pane. Choosing multiple states for a single feature functions as an "OR" statement (e.g., forewingforewing:
the anterior wing
pattern: costal spotcostal spot:
a patch of contrasting scales on the costa, usually a remnant of the postmedian or preterminal fascia 
OR tornal spot; not costal spotcostal spot:
a patch of contrasting scales on the costa, usually a remnant of the postmedian or preterminal fascia AND tornal spot). Remaining entities (taxa) are displayed in the top right pane and eliminated entities are displayed in the bottom right pane. Because this key has several dependent features, it may be helpful to reload the key if too many mistakes are made selecting features. The key can be reloaded by clicking on the "Restart" (left-most) button.
Use the "Best" function with caution! The keys will function more efficiently if you manually select characters that you are familiar with instead of using "Best." The "Best" algorithm automatically calculates and selects the feature that would eliminate approximately half of the remaining entities. As the keys are designed with several dependencies and many characters are unique to a small group of taxa, the "Best" function automatically skips many important characters. Exclusive use of the "Best" function may not result in a successful identification.
consisting of a single bristle, while female tortricids have a frenulumfrenulum: consisting of two or more bristles. Choosing the appropriate sex loads gender-specific characters (such as genitalia). If the sex of the specimen cannot be determined, "unknown" may be selected; however, this option should be used with caution as it will load all characters for both sexes and could lead to incorrect character combinations (e.g., a forewing costal foldforewing costal fold:
in combination with female genitalic characters). Keep in mind that, while pheromone traps primarily target male moths, females are commonly found in traps and the sex of any particular specimen should not be assumed. 
length and ocelliocelli:
presence) are useful for certain Sparganothini. patterns, select the predominate feature for the specimen you are examining. In many cases, it may be helpful to select more than one state. Forewingforewing: length, the presence or absence of a costal fold (males only), and general hindwinghindwing:
appearance can also be selected. It may be difficult or impossible to make a final determination based only on wing pattern; in most cases a combination of wing pattern and male genitalia will be required for positive identification. The larval key is navigated by clicking in a checkbox next to the feature state. Chosen features are displayed in the bottom left pane. Choosing multiple states for color or pattern features functions as an "AND" statement (body color: green AND brown = greenish-brown). Choosing multiple states for morphological features functions as an "OR" statement (anal comb: present OR absent). Remaining entities (taxa) are displayed in the top right pane and eliminated entities are displayed in the bottom right pane. Because this key has several dependent features, it may be helpful to reload the key if too many mistakes are made selecting features. The key can be reloaded by clicking the "Restart" (left-most) button.
Use the "Best" function with caution! The keys will function more efficiently if you manually select characters that you are familiar with instead of using "Best." The "Best" algorithm automatically calculates and selects the feature that would eliminate approximately half of the remaining entities. As the keys are designed with several dependencies and many characters are unique to a small group of taxa, the "Best" function automatically skips many important characters. Exclusive use of the "Best" function may not result in a successful identification.
and the prothoracic prespiracular pinaculumpinaculum:
. These features (especially the prespiracular pinaculumpinaculum: shape) can be used to narrow the remaining taxa to several species groups. As with the head, markings and coloration on the legs and prothoracic shieldprothoracic shield: change over time, and they are coded here assuming a late instar larva.
should remain fairly consistent. All taxa are scored assuming a late instar larva. The identifier is successful when the key is completed and one or more entities remain. In some cases it may be impossible to key a larva to a single entity, especially if location and/or intercepted host information is not known. The identifier should consult the fact sheets for any remaining entities (next to the species name) to determine if the description of the species is consistent with the specimen being examined. DNA data may be necessary to provide or confirm identifications for many intercepted tortricid larvae.
The TortID pupal key treats 14 taxa (species or genera) that are commonly intercepted during quarantine surveys by the USDA at United States ports of entry or are likely to be encountered during domestic surveys. It treats both native and exotic species. Though it does not take geographic origin into place, special care should be taken to check whether the identification arrived at makes sense in the context of where the pupa was found. The current distribution of all taxa treated in this key can be found on the fact sheets. It is important to note that this key is not designed to identify all tortricid pupae; rearing of adults may be necessary to confirm the identification.
