App Profile: IRecord Butterflies

Butterflies are in trouble. A third of UK species are threatened and three-quarters are in decline. Butterfly recording is the foundation for protecting these beautiful creatures. The iRecord Butterflies app has been developed by the charity Butterfly Conservation and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology to help you identify the butterflies that you see and to submit your sightings through iRecord so that they can be used to protect butterflies and the environment.

The app uses your location and the time of year to help with identification, presenting the butterflies that you are most likely to see at the top of the list. It has galleries of colour photographs showing all UK butterflies, at all stages of their life cycles, and tips to help with the identification of difficult species. You can use the app to record a single butterfly or create a list of different species seen during a visit to a site.

Over half a million sightings have already been submitted through the iRecord Butterflies app and are being used by scientists and conservationists to provide vital information about how the fortunes of UK butterflies have changed over the decades. Your sightings will be used to help understand the causes of decline and to inform conservation action on the ground to help threatened species.