Discover the Art of Butterfly Identification on eButterfly

Is that fluttering beauty a Monarch, a Painted Lady, or perhaps a Swallowtail? Your input on eButterfly isn’t just appreciated—it’s transformative. By identifying butterfly observations, you help shape a global database critical for research and conservation.

When you confirm an observation, you contribute to creating an Observation ID, a cornerstone of accurate and reliable records. Each “Identified” record becomes a research-grade reference, connecting a butterfly to a specific time and place. Ready to make your mark? Let’s dive in!

A Bit of Background

What’s in a Name?

Naming butterflies can be an adventure. Did you know that a single species might go by many names depending on the language or region? To keep things universal, we use scientific names consisting of two parts: genus (like a family name) and species (like a given name).

For instance, the Monarch Butterfly, known as Danaus plexippus worldwide, also belongs to the family Nymphalidae. It’s closely related to the Queen (Danaus gillipus) and Soldier (Danaus erisimus), forming the charming “Tiger Milkweed Butterflies” genus. And don’t worry—you’ll become familiar with these categories as you explore.

The Identification Window: Your Gateway to Contributions

Now, let’s take a closer look at the Identification Window, a pop-up screen that appears when you’re ready to identify a particular observational species. This window is your gateway to contributing to the eButterfly community. Here’s what you’ll find:

Observation Species: The observer’s initial guess at the species.
Observer Info: Who submitted it, when, and where.
Photo Evidence: A key visual for making IDs.
Current ID: The leading Observation ID with its status tag.
Action Box: Suggest an ID and leave comments for others to learn from you!

New to identification? Use the button for state-of-the-art AI-powered species suggestions tailored to the photo, time, and place.

: A visual representation of the taxonomic tree. The orange highlighted path indicates the user’s chosen identification route within the tree.

Community vetting

What happens after you submit your observation and provide an initial suggestion for the Observation ID? How is your observation vetted to receive the “Identified” status, making it available for research and conservation, and how long does that process take?

The magic of eButterfly lies in its community-powered identification system. Anyone can review and contribute to others’ observations—no need to be a seasoned expert! Collective knowledge often rivals even the most experienced specialists.

Additionally, you are never alone in the identification process. If you encounter a challenging observation, you can use the button to access our advanced image recognition tool, which suggests the most likely species ID based on the image, time of year, and location.

To start identifying, click the “Identify” button from the main menu!

The Rules of Engagement

When other users review an observation, they can add their identifications to confirm or refine it, ultimately achieving an “Identified” status similar to a research grade. To qualify for this status, two conditions must be met:

At least three users, including the original submitter, must participate in the identification process, and
At least two-thirds (66%) of the votes must agree on the Observation ID.

Any eButterfly user can take part in this process; however, not all votes carry the same weight. Users gain more voting power by identifying and submitting observations, which contributes to a user experience badge system.

New (1 Vote): Users with up to 99 identifications and 25 species submissions.
Guide (2 Votes): Users with 100 identifications and 25 species submissions.
Expert (3 Votes): Users with 1,000 identifications and 75 species submissions.
Curator (4 Votes): Users with 10,000 identifications and 250 species submissions.

The higher the badge level, the more weight the user’s vote carries. For example, if several experts agree on an ID, their votes may reach the two-thirds consensus threshold faster, leading to quicker vetting.

Example in Action: The Evolution of an ID

Let’s follow the journey of an observation on eButterfly to understand how the community works together to achieve a reliable identification.

🦋 Step 1: The Initial Observation

A user uploads a butterfly observation and suggests it might be a Queen Butterfly (Danaus gillipus). This initial guess is recorded as the first Observation ID, but it doesn’t yet meet the criteria for an “Identified” record. At this stage, the ID is marked as “Needs ID” and is awaiting further input.

🦋 Step 2: A Second Opinion

Another user comes across the record and suggests it might actually be a Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). This creates a disagreement at the species level, but both users agree that the butterfly belongs to the genus Danaus (Tiger Milkweed Butterflies). Now, the ID is updated to reflect the Genus Danaus, and the record remains “Needs ID” until a third user participates.

🦋 Step 3: Reaching Consensus

A third user reviews the observation. After examining the photo, this user agrees with the second participant that the butterfly is a Monarch. With three participants now involved, it’s time to tally the votes:

The first user (a New badge holder) votes for the Queen Butterfly, contributing 1 vote.
The second user (a Guide) and the third user (a Curator) both vote for the Monarch, contributing 2 votes and 4 votes, respectively.

The votes are weighted as follows:

Monarch: 6 votes (86%)
Queen: 1 vote (14%)

Since the Monarch ID reaches the two-thirds (66%) threshold, the butterfly is officially marked as a Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), earning the label “Identified.” This makes the record eligible for research and conservation efforts!

🦋 Step 4: The Power of Incomplete IDs

Even when users can’t agree on a specific species, incomplete IDs can still strengthen the database. For example:

User A suggests the butterfly is a Monarch (Danaus plexippus).
User B suggests it’s a Queen (Danaus gillipus).
User C suggests it’s a Soldier (Danaus eresimus).

Though the species IDs differ, all three users agree that the butterfly belongs to the genus Danaus. With the required two-thirds majority and at least three participants, the record is labelled as “Genus Identified.”

🦋 Step 5: When Consensus is Incomplete

Sometimes, users may disagree even more broadly and eButterfly IDs are never set in stone. As more users contribute their expertise, the system can move observations up or down the taxonomic tree. Let’s continue with the same example:

Let’s assume that the Curator, instead of their original species suggestion, they suggest the butterfly doesn’t belong to the genus Danaus at all but to Limenitis, a group known as Admirals. Now, the system finds that there’s no agreement at the genus level. However, all users agree that the butterfly belongs to the family Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies). In this case, the record is updated to “Family Identified”, reflecting the highest level of agreement among users. If others agree, the ID could be updated to “Family Identified”, or even refined further as more votes come in. This dynamic nature keeps the eButterfly database accurate and adaptable, improving with every observation.

In this example, a third user reviews the observation and believes that the butterfly is not a Queen but a Monarch, voting for that Observation ID. Now that three users have participated, it’s time to count the votes!

Let’s take a look at the experience badges next to each username. The first user has an experience level of “New,” making their vote worth 1 point. The other two users are classified as a Guide and a Curator, with their votes worth 2 points and 4 points, respectively.

After tallying the votes, we see that one vote (14%) favours the observation of being a Queen, while six votes (86%) favour the Monarch ID. This will officially classify the butterfly as a Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and assign it a green label called “Identified,” making this record eligible for conservation efforts!

But the fun doesn’t end here. Any Observation ID on eButterfly is dynamic and will keep evolving over time, refining Butterfly’s database quality every day. Some of our most interesting records have dozens of users participating and learning from each other!

A Final Word

Some of the most exciting observations on eButterfly have sparked debates, with dozens of users joining in to refine the ID. Whether your contributions are simple or complex, each one helps build a better understanding of butterflies worldwide.

By working together, we make every record count for science and conservation. So, don’t hesitate—get involved, and let’s identify butterflies together!