Webinar Alert: Introducing the New eButterfly Mobile App
We are thrilled to announce the release of the eButterfly Mobile app, a cutting-edge tool designed to enhance your butterfly-watching experience. Developed by an international team of biologists, software engineers, and computer scientists at e-Butterfly.org, this app leverages artificial intelligence to help users identify butterflies and share their observations directly from their smartphones while out in the field.
A Seamless Butterfly-Watching Experience
The eButterfly Mobile app is your new companion for recording and creating lists of butterflies you encounter. This free app allows you to keep track of your butterfly-watching activities in real-time, making your data available for scientific research, education, and conservation.
With the app, you can easily create and submit lists and counts of butterflies you find on the go. Simply select your butterfly-watching location and add the butterflies you observe. Once you’re finished, your data, including butterfly counts, images, and effort, will be shared with your account on the e-Butterfly platform.
Empowering Citizen Scientists
Rodrigo Solis, e-Butterfly Human Network and Data Coordinator, highlights the significance of the new app:
“The new e-Butterfly is the perfect long-term monitoring tool for individuals to contribute data on butterfly observations worldwide for decades to come. This will be an essential and wonderful opportunity for people to get involved in science, appreciate nature, and interact with and enjoy biodiversity.”
Advanced AI for Accurate Identification
One of the standout features of the eButterfly Mobile app is its incorporation of artificial intelligence. In collaboration with the Montréal Institute for Learning Algorithms (Mila), we have developed an advanced image recognition algorithm that can identify butterflies from photos taken with your device. Trained on millions of butterfly images, this AI can detect unique patterns and characteristics for each species.
A Vital Resource for Conservation
Kent McFarland, director of VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life and eButterfly, underscores the importance of collecting butterfly data:
“Changes in butterfly diversity act as early warning signals for habitat degradation, climate change, and other ecological threats. By collecting observations in its growing open-access database, eButterfly is a powerful resource for naturalists, educators, students, lepidopterists, conservationists, land managers, and policymakers to mitigate the rapid loss of insect biodiversity documented worldwide.”
Join Our Growing Community
eButterfly.org offers a robust platform where users can access lists, photos, and real-time maps of butterflies from a database that is expected to amass millions of records from tens of thousands of observers. Users can submit and organize their butterfly observations and photos, share them with others, and receive help with butterfly identification from experts and fellow enthusiasts.
Maxim Larrivée, director of the Insectarium | Montréal Space for Life and eButterfly, shares his enthusiasm:
“eButterfly is the tool for any butterfly enthusiast, from beginners looking for help with butterfly identification to experts who may want to plan their outings based on what species are active on any date at any particular location.”
Join Our Webinar to Learn More
To help you get started with the app, we are hosting a series of webinars:
- Webinar in English: Thursday, July 18th at 6 PM (EST). Preregister here
- Webinar in Spanish: Tuesday, July 23rd at 6 PM (EST). Preregister here
- Webinar in French: Thursday, July 25th at 6 PM (EST). Preregister here
Download the App Now
Get the eButterfly Mobile app today:
Embark on your butterfly-watching journey with eButterfly Mobile and contribute to the global effort to understand and protect these beautiful creatures.
