Butterfly surveyors and researchers now have a new way to conduct research for tracking butterfly populations: The Unified Butterfly Recorder app designed by ISU students.

After learning that professional researchers wanted an app for easier and more efficient butterfly tracking, Nathan Brockman, the butterfly wing curator at Reiman Gardens, submitted a proposal to the electrical and computer engineering senior design class.

In this class, seniors in the program work with clients to develop the desired product. Brockman was motivated to send the proposal because he had previously worked with this class on other projects for Reiman Gardens.

“It was a real-world experience for them,” Brockman said. “They had a client that they had to meet and work with and produce a product for.”

His proposal was accepted in January 2013 by a group of four students in the class.

“We were interested because it could make a real world impact — it wouldn’t just be a toy someone would have sitting around,” said Julie Tillman, an ISU 2013 graduate and a member of the group who developed the app.

Brockman offered his suggestions and the students offered theirs, resulting with the Unified Butterfly Recorder app.

The group worked together for a year to create the app working with Reiman Gardens and getting input from individuals in Canada and Germany.

The app has multiple different survey methods to choose from and more than 800 species of butterflies found in the United States and Europe, too. Currently, they are working on adding species found in Africa and neo-tropical areas.

Brockman also wanted the app to automatically collect the data that was time-consuming in the old collection method.

“We wanted it to be very user-friendly and still meet the needs of the butterfly community,” Brockman said.

The students added features to the app that automatically tracks the GPS of whomever starts a survey, and then a map of what type and where each butterfly was sighted throughout the survey is created. The weather data from the nearest weather station, the time a butterfly was sighted and more is also collected.

The Unified Butterfly Recorder app was designed as a collection tool. It allows users to share their surveys with researchers to help increase the information science has on native butterflies and their locations.

“We’re excited for its potential and what it can mean for butterfly conservation,” Brockman said.

The app currently has more than 100 downloads and a 4.5 star rating out of five.

“It’s really exciting to see that people are actually using the app while it’s out there,” Tillman said.

While the app was designed with butterflies in mind, it can be used for tracking whatever the surveyor desires.

“We left it open-ended,” Brockman said. “We purposely designed it so other groups could use it and tweak it for their needs.”

Brockman also believes the app could potentially be a tool for educators to use to help excite students about science.

“They could get excited about what’s going on in the environment around them through this app,” Brockman said. “It could be a fun tool for students to understand conservation education.”

Brockman will present the app at different conferences during the summer and hopes it will result with more downloads and reviews to be used for future improvement.

Currently, the app is only available on Android, but a new proposal has been submitted for a new group to take over and develop the iOS version. 

The Unified Butterfly Recorder is free to download and can be used in Ames in the Butterfly Wing of Reiman Garden’s, year-round, where admission is free for Iowa State students.