Mobile App Review - Singapore Butterfly Guide

The Nature Society (Singapore) designed an app called the Singapore Butterfly Guide. I have downloaded the app on an Apple OS as there is no option to download for Android users. If you read my review on the Singapore Bird Guide, this will look very similar as the program design is essentially identical. When you open the app after your download, the ‘ BROWSE’ page appears in the Gallery View with thumbnails of the butterflies, it is already very visually appealing and makes me want to search for butterflies! However, if you prefer to view the page differently, there is a drop-down list for other options to view the butterflies. Beside this, you can also pick what butterflies you would like to view, from ‘Show All’  down to ‘Orange Skippers’ and everything in between. At the bottom of the page, you can see what category you are in the “BROWSE’ section, and we’ll look at each in detail.

In the ‘SEARCH’ section, you can type in a butterfly in the search bar at the top, or try narrowing down a butterfly if it is one you are unfamiliar with. The app provides you options to choose from such as, color, general size, if it has a tail or not, if there is an eyespot present, and it’s speed. I find these very helpful, because as much as I like to admire butterflies, I know very little and can use all the help I can get. 

When you find a butterfly you are looking for, you are taken to a result page with lots of description. For example, I clicked on a random butterfly and it provides me with the common and scientific name. It shows images for Rarity (stars), its habitat (in trees), and tells me if it is slow or fast. There is some description of the butterfly followed by buttons for those that are ‘SIMILAR’, a ‘+COMPARE’, ‘+LIST’, and ‘SHARE’. For example, I clicked on the Common Rose butterfly and it tells me it is somewhat rare, it maybe lives near parks as there is a bench and tree icons, and it doesn’t move very fast. I am also told there are a couple of similar looking butterflies and can share this information through Facebook or email. I can add it to a comparison of up to 5 butterflies or a list of my choosing, as well.

In the “COMPARE’ section, you can browse up to 5 butterflies to compare in a separate window, with larger images and closer together to hopefully be able to see something different from the individuals. In this example I picked two similar looking butterflies and you can zoom in to see different areas of the butterflies to show their differences. This would be helpful if you are in the field and are trying to determine which species you are seeing. 

The ‘LIST’ section is one of my favorites. You can add a list, giving it a title, description, date, time, GPS, participants, and notes. When your list is highlighted yellow, you can add species to that list by clicking the ‘+LIST’ button on the results page of the butterfly you choose. The list then compiles what you have seen and the number of overall butterflies. There is a Life List* and All Sightings* list that compiles all of the species and quantity of those individuals you have seen also which is very useful if you are talking to someone about Life Lists. 

Lastly, in the ‘MORE’ section, there is basic information about the app, as well as a couple of ways to export your lists, either through email or to Excel. I really love this option as you can share your findings with a group or make edits in Excel. Overall, I think this is a wonderful app, the pictures are so pretty and it provides very informative information. Now, I just need to hop over to Singapore to put it to use!

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