A new app aims to gather important data on butterflies and moths.
The Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa (LepSoc Africa) is collaborating with a European initiative, the Electronic Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (eBMS), to count the numbers of butterflies in various areas in this country over time. eBMS aims is to establish a growing body of data that can be used to establish where species occur and how they are doing over time.
Steve Woodhall, the developer of the South African Butterflies App and a prominent member of the LepSoc community, is heavily involved in the project. He explains that unlike iNaturalist, LepiMAP or any other citizen science initiatives, it relies on users to make their own identifications—there is no oversight committee to pronounce on these identifications. However, those using the eBMS app can log sightings at genus level or simply as “Unidentified” and later make a positive identification.
The eBMS app itself does not have a photo guide for South African butterflies yet (except for those species we have in common with Europe), but it does have a comprehensive butterfly list. The list is based on the database that Mark Williams and Jeremy Dobson, current chair of LepSoc Africa, compiled from the Afrotropical Butterflies encyclopedia.
“The database was one of the last projects in which Mark was involved—a fitting memorial to somebody who made such a big contribution to LepSoc and the butterfly community generally,” says Woodhall.
Users can use my app to identify what they have seen, Woodhall says. He explains that the eBMS data will enable LepSoc, and all participants in the scheme too, to begin identifying countrywide trends.
To collect data on eBMS, users can either set up a transect (a standard walk that they undertake at regular intervals) or the more flexible 15-minute count technique can be used. The app collects the location information direct from the phone as each sighting is logged, making it very easy to use.
The main point is that the survey needs to be done repeatedly in order to accumulate the data needed to identify trends, Woodhall explains.
“eBMS requires a certain level of commitment, so it’s not for everyone, but we hope sufficient people will care to make it part of their lives,” says Woodhall. “One of the exciting things about it is how companies responsible for areas of biodiversity can use it to track butterfly numbers and species richness. This is an important aspect of what has come to be known as ‘biodiversity accounting’.”
The eBMS app is available for Apple or Android devices.
Get full instructions on how to use eBMS.
While you don’t need to be a member of LepSoc Africa to participate, but making the butterfly community makes a lot of sense! Join here.
