1 minute read
Butterflies of Europe for iPhone
by Chris Manley, Matt Rowlings, Peter Eeles and Guy Padfield
Published in the EIG Newsletter, Issue 10, this review, written by Simon Spencer, is reproduced with his permission.
Just occasionally technological change makes it possible for people to do something completely new. Not long ago the idea of having a complete photographic guide to the butterflies of Europe on your mobile phone would have been inconceivable. Today it is a reality. What makes it possible is the iPhone or, if you prefer, the phoneless and cheaper iPad. For £11.99 you can download 3000 images including maps for the 400 odd butterflies that occur in Europe. This package totals 400 mb. The human interface is remarkably intuitive and makes full use of the capabilities of the Apple operating system. You navigate quickly by icons. A quick tap takes you to the next level and you can bring up crystal clear photographs of virtually every butterfly in Europe. You can check against similar species. In many cases you can bring up annotated diagrams telling you what to look at. You can also bring up a map which covers northern Morocco to Arctic Scandinavia and eastwards to European Turkey showing the distribution. There are also notes on food plant and life cycle. This is all in your pocket.
What makes this special is collaboration between some of the best butterfly photographers and experts in Europe with someone who has contributed to a similar but somewhat inferior product on Moths. This butterfly App makes full use of the Apple graphic interface which the moth App failed to do. It also uses the very latest Taxonomy using the list available on the EIG website. Hopefully the next edition will have a complete set of photos but most island endemic graylings all look the same. I could have done with a bit more text as that takes very few megabytes compared to pictures.
I can leave behind the field guide and even the GPS but I still need to take my notebook. What is required now is a facility to record in the field, building up a list of species with an abundance code and to send it by email to BC with the date, location and coordinates before leaving the site! Published by Lepidapp @ £11.99 www.lepidapp.co.uk See it on the iTunes store http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ butterflies-of-europe/id499848412
