Use Citizen Science to share your observations
We use an online platform for Citizen Science called "iNaturalist" where you can upload biological findings such as pictures of insects. Experts and an automatic determination help you to identify your findings, so you can expand your knowledge of biological organisms, discover observations and help biodiversity research!
Download the iNaturalist App
Download the app ”iNaturalist” and create a free account.
Join the Actions for Insects project
Alternatively, click on “Projects” (the symbol is a suitcase) and search for the “Actions for Insects” project. Join the project.
Upload your observation
Click on the green plus in Android or the camera symbol in iOS to upload a new observation.
Take a picture or upload from gallery
Take a new picture of an insect or select a picture from your gallery you would like to upload. You can upload several pictures of the same insect.
Add details on the observation page
Fill in your observation details to describe what you saw and where you found it.
What did you see?
Click on “What did you see?” and wait for the automatic suggestion. Choose a level of identification you feel confident (e.g. insect; butterfly; fly; bumblebee). Then go back to the main observation menu.
Add a location
Click on “Location” to add the place for your observation (select on map; use search for location). Then go back to the main observation menu.
Add to Actions for Insects project
Click on “Add to project” the observation to our project (“Actions for insects” – if it does not show up, check if you have completed step 2). Then go back to the main observation menu.
Ready to share!
Share your observation by clicking on the green symbol at the bottom.
Video guides
Upload observations to iNaturalist
Using the explore function in iNaturalist
Now you can create your own digital "insect collection" and discover which insects are around you! You can also discover and like what other people in our "Actions for insects" project have found!
Frequently Asked Questions
It is good, when the pictures are not too blurry. Make sure that the most parts of the insects are visible. As mentioned above, take pictures from different perspectives. It is easier to identify species, when many different features are visible. You can also crop pictures.
Sometimes the first “identification” is wrong. That is not a problem. Experienced members of the community will provide their opinion and suggest another (hopefully better) identification. Many insect species or groups are hard to identify based on pictures, so mistakes will happen.
You decide where you take your pictures of insects. It is interesting to see, what you can find in your direct surroundings. When you take actions to create “insect-friendly” places, you can see which insects you attract. It can also be interesting to explore and compare places. Think about insects’ needs – that gives you a hint for finding or attracting them
You need to upload the picture as a separate “observation” for each species. You can crop the picture or make a remark in which species you are interested.
Do not wait for a long time to make “the” perfect shot, because then the insect probably flies away. You can use zoom to take pictures from distance and then get closer to take more pictures.
Yes, you can. You just do not add it to the Actions for Insects project. When you have a plant that attracts many insects, you can use iNaturalist to learn about this species. If you are unsure, if you saw an insect or not, upload it in the project –experts in iNaturalist will find out. iNaturalist is an “outdoor” app, so do not upload pictures from indoor plants or pets. When you take pictures of something intentionally grown, choose “Det är i fångenksap eller odlat”.
You do not need to be afraid. Most insects cannot sting. Even insects that can sting will not do so, if you take pictures from some distance and do not disturb it too much or get too close to the nest.
Click on the pictures in your own collection, to learn more about your observed organisms. iNaturalist provides a lot of information. You can find the observations of others in our “Actions for Insects” project. You can learn about their observations, mark them as favorites or leave a positive comment! This can support and motivate others! Do not leave negative or offensive comments.
Yes, you should. First, be proud of yourself that you already can recognize some species! Our aim in the project is to collect information about all species and to find out, which the most common ones in our observations are and when they occur. Therefore, take pictures of whatever insect you can find
“Research grade” observations meet the “highest” observation standards. To achieve “research grade”, you need to provide sufficient information about place and time, and the iNaturalist experts must agree on a species. Some of our observations will not achieve this grade, because many insect species are hard (or even impossible) to identify from a picture. That is why many professional observations use traps to collect insects and identify them. So if you do not achieve a research grade, do not be frustrated. It could mean that you found something challenging.
Yes, you can. When you forgot some information (e.g. place; add it to project), you can add this information at a later point. BUT: Every observation is stored and visible to others in iNaturalist. Do not upload pictures of persons or of non-biological things, otherwise you might be blocked from iNaturalist.
