Insect Phone Apps Are Here
Have you wished there was an easy way to identify insects and other wildlife while you were actually in front of it, so you wouldn’t have to try and remember what it looks like later to do some research. This could obviously be useful for seeing whether the insect or spider in front of you is a danger to you or not, among other things. Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. Insect and spider phone apps are now available to download. There are even a few to choose from!
A new app called Spidentify has been launched that can be used to identify over 250 species of spiders. It lets you browse species by habitat, spider family, as well as region. The app also has a convenient color-coded danger rating system to let you know if the spider you are looking at is lethal or just a harmless little critter. Alan Henderson, a photographer that has worked on numerous insect and spider exhibits, and his daughter Caitlin, who works for Melbourne’s Minibeast Wildlife, the company that first commissioned the app, are the two brains behind this new spider identification phone app. The father and daughter pair spent almost a week traveling around and tracking down the spiders so they could photograph and make a detailed entry for each of them. Now, no matter where you find yourself crossing paths with a spider, you can at least find out if you need to freak out or not.
Another app that you might find helpful is the iNaturalist app, created by the California Academy of Sciences. The app uses artificial intelligence to immediately identify any kind of animal or insect with just a photo. This little program is pretty handy, as you can simply snap a photo of the insect or spider in front of you and the app will quickly identify it and provide you with more knowledge about it than you probably ever actually wanted to learn. This app can pretty much identify anything you might come across in the wild, as the creators are constantly adding new plants, birds, insects, spiders, mammals, and even slime molds…if you’re into that kind of thing.
Have you tried out either of these insect apps or another one you found? How well did it work for you?
