9 Best Butterfly Identification Apps for Android & iOS

Have you ever seen butterflies? If yes, then you know how beautiful they are! There are thousands of these amazing creatures and it is hard to know all of them.

By the way, if you are also interested in flowers, 5 Free Flower Identification Apps might also be useful for you.

However, there is some good news. Now you can delegate butterfly identification to a reliable app. In this article, you will explore beautiful apps to identify butterflies both for iOS, as well as Android.

Leps by Fieldguide

This is one of the best applications for insect identification. Not only does it provide you with an impressive database but it also gives you a smart UI that is easy and cool to use.

Leps is absolutely free of charge, meaning you won’t have to pay for in-app purchases and will see no ads at all.

Let’s concentrate on the best features you will explore in Leps:

1. To identify the insect you see, open the app, use the camera and take a photo right from the application. It will be automatically uploaded and recognized. You will see the result in a few seconds.
2. If the recognition was successful, you will see a small card with detailed info about the recognized butterfly. There is usually the name of the specie, its main characteristics, as well as some info about the habitat it might live in.

The only downside is that the app has no community. It means you can hardly communicate with other users.

The application is available on the App Store, as well as Google Play.

You may also like: 7 Best Bird Identification Apps

Picture Insect: Bug Identifier

This application isn’t about butterflies only, it can identify a big number of other species. Still, there are many butterfly species the app can recognize.

In this application, you will explore the database of over 1000 various butterfly species. All of them have a description and photos attached. 

To start identifying insects, do the following: 

1. Download the app and give it permission to your camera. This is vitally important for the app to perform its functions well. 
2. Take a photo of the insect you want to identify. The process will last about 10 seconds but it still depends on the photo you will upload. Try to take it from a short distance or zoom in when it is impossible to come closer. 
3. Discover a rich source of information. If you need to study butterflies for an upcoming exam, this app will be a perfect solution. It will help you to avoid browsing the Internet yourself and provide you with all the info.
4. Enjoy great tips that will appear from time to time. Even though the interface of the app is pretty simple, you will still love these pieces of advice. They will help you to learn the species much faster.
5. Danger notification. If you took a photo of an insect that can be dangerous for people, you will be the first to know about it.

Picture Insect is free with a strictly limited number of functions and ads. If you want to expand the number of options you have, don’t hesitate to go premium.

One month will cost you $5.99. If you want to use the app regularly, it is better to go for the yearly subscription, it costs $29.99.

iRecord Butterflies

Here comes another great application to identify iRecord. This powerful tool was created by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK. All the fasts were found in reliable sources and double-checked by professionals.

The app has a pretty simple interface that is clear at the first glance. It helps you to concentrate on the butterflies you want to identify, not on the navigation.

The app has a big set of options. What can you do with their help? Let’s see!

• Turn your location on. We strongly recommend you don’t skip such a step. It will help you to detect butterflies around you. The option will work automatically, you don’t have to activate it manually.
• Take a photo and upload it to the app. It will analyze the picture using AI principles and give you the result in a few seconds.
• Read the info about the species you identify. If you are interested in various insects, you will fall in love with this feature.
• If the specie you managed to identify is rare, you will be notified about it. Please be careful if you face such a butterfly.

What is especially cool is that the app is being updated all the time. New functions and species are also added with every new update.

To function properly, iRecord Butterflies will need access to your purchases, location, content, as well as contacts.

Both iOS and Android users can download the application for free.

iNaturalist

This is one of the best applications to identify various natural objects. For sure, it’s not about butterflies only. However, the section devoted to butterflies is also huge so you can use the service for butterfly identification.

Even though iNaturalist is full of various options, the interface is still quite simple to use. Now let’s turn to the functions that you will see in the app.

• Identify species. To do it, you just need your camera. Take a photo and let the app help you recognize the animal or insect depicted there.
• Enjoy a great community. If you feel you have no answers to your questions, don’t hesitate to ask and communicate with others. Skilled users may teach you a lot.
• The app is created by professionals. It means all the data you will see there is reliable and based on science.What is more, the service is actually the initiative of the California Academy of Sciences. It is a non-profit project.

To get the app, you need about 50 MB of memory, which makes it one of the smallest tools.

iNaturalist is available both for iOS, as well as Android users.

You may also like: 7 Best Mushrooms Identification Apps.

Woodhall’s eButterflies RSA

Here is a truly powerful application that you can use to identify a butterfly. It contains a huge database of butterflies you may encounter all over the world.

Unfortunately, the app isn’t free of charge. To download it, you have to pay $15.99. There is no basic free version.

Here are the best features you will explore in the app:

1. You will see over 800 different butterfly species. For sure, it isn’t a lot but the database is being updated all the time.
2. Search for the species by region or GPS. For example, if you are in Africa, you can just turn on the GPS option and get the list of butterflies you can encounter there.
3. Review the search history. If you see that you often use the same search patterns, you can just turn to history.
4. The latest update improved the UI and made the navigation much easier. It will help you to concentrate on what matters instead of struggling with the interface.

The application is available on the App Store, as well as Google Play.

Big Butterfly Count

The Big Butterfly Count app covers a wide variety of butterfly species commonly found in your region. From the majestic Monarchs to the elegant Painted Ladies, you’ll discover a stunning array of butterflies fluttering around you.

Plus, as you participate in the count, you’ll gain valuable knowledge about these fascinating insects.

Here are the best features you will explore in the app:

1. Butterfly identification to help users identify different butterfly species accurately
2. Butterfly counting to participate in the annual Big Butterfly Count by recording and submitting the number of butterflies they spot during the designated count period
3. Data submission to submit butterfly sightings, contributing to national and international databases for research and conservation purposes

By participating in the Big Butterfly Count, you’re contributing valuable data that helps scientists monitor and protect butterfly populations. Your efforts directly contribute to understanding the ecological health of your surroundings and aid in conservation efforts.

To conclude, I find this app a convenient tool for people who are interested in studying butterflies and their characteristics.

Butterflies: Encyclopedia

This app is a bit different from the others listed here. Its main difference is that it can’t recognize a butterfly by a camera. However, it may give you other cool options. 

Let’s see what you can do in Butterflies: 

• Explore a huge encyclopedia of butterflies. It contains over 20,000 different species and the info about them. 
• See the colorful pictures of butterflies. It will help you to identify the butterfly you may see in real life. 
• Use search. If you know some facts about a butterfly, type them in the search line. It works just like a browser providing you with relevant options. 
• Save the info you have found. You can just copy and paste it or save it directly on your device or Google Drive. 

The app has a pretty simple but a bit outdated interface. It requires no instructions to get started. 

This tool is free with ads and in-app purchases. However, you don’t need a lot to start. Basic functions might help you find the necessary info easily. 

Unfortunately, at the moment, only Android users can get this cool butterfly identification app. 

Insect Identifier Bug Identify

This is a useful tool for a seasoned entomologist or just a curious nature enthusiast as it is able to help such specialists to do their work.

The main features:

1. Insect identification to recognize various insect species
2. Image recognition to identify the species
3. Insect databases to get information about butterflies’ appearance, behavior, habitat, and geographic distribution

Speaking of butterflies, the Insect Identifier Bug Identify app excels in identifying various species of these winged beauties. From common garden butterflies to rare and exotic ones, you’ll have the delight of identifying them with just a few taps on your phone.

However, the app’s capabilities don’t end there. It extends its identification prowess to other insects as well, allowing you to unlock a world of insect diversity during your nature walks.

In conclusion, it is possible to say that this app has plenty of useful features for butterfly identification. So, if you want to learn more about insects, you can bravely download this app.

You can also check: 7 Best Snake Identification Apps for Android & iOS

Butterfly: Identify, Search

If your main aim is to identify a butterfly, then this app is a must. It provides you with a big set of options to understand what butterfly you have faced.

This application is simple to use. It has a cool interface colored green.Howeverm the set of functions is also impressive.

What can you do in the app?

• Identify butterflies in a few seconds. To do it, just take a photo of the insect you want to recognize. Try to get closer to the butterfly so that the photo is good and the insect is in the center.
• Choose a photo from your gallery or from the Internet. Sometimes you might feel like identifying a butterfly from the picture you’ve seen somewhere. In this case, Butterly can still help you greatly.
• The process of recognition will take about 5 seconds. If it failed, you might need to upload another picture.

If you are afraid your data will be secretly collected by the app, don’t worry – according to the developer, the app collects no data at all.

At the moment, the Butterfly app is available on Google Play only.