
We've all seen a plant, animal or fungus and wondered what it is - if you can't name it, how can you learn more? Firstly, it helps enormously to take a photograph - the clearer the photo, the more likely you will be able to identify it. Take several photos if you can, showing different angles or features, see our photography page. A photo not only serves as a memory-aid, it also enables you to share it with specialists who can help with the identification. If you can identify the species then please submit a record - here on NatureSpot if it was seen in Leicestershire or Rutland, otherwise on iRecord.
Here is our suggested route to getting an ID:
1. Use an ID app
There is a growing list of apps that can help to identify wildlife and they offer a great starting point. While these apps can be very helpful, they also make mistakes. Treat the results as a guide rather than a definite identification - look up the species on NatureSpot or use a search engine to look more widely to see if it is a good match. Photos taken on a camera are usually better quality so try using the app on your smartphone to photograph the computer screen displaying the image. Some apps are better than others so see our advice on the best free ID apps.
2. Check NatureSpot's image galleries
Our Species Library includes images and descriptions of most animals and plants you can find in Leicestershire and Rutland (most can be found across the UK as well). If you know what type of animal or plant it is, use the menu on the home page to go to the relevant section. If you aren't sure then try the Species Library start page to see representative images for each group. Click on any species in the gallery to visit the species page for more images and information. Whilst a visual match works well for most larger species, it isn't always reliable and especially not for invertebrates, fungi and many plants. Our Red/Amber/Green Identification Difficulty ratings provide a good guide to help you navigate around this issue. If you are new to wildlife recording, it's best to concentrate on green-rated species to begin with.
3. Get specialist help
At the top of each species gallery page (bugs, fungi, etc) we have listed both online and printed resources that can help you to identify species in that group. Where these resources are specific to a subgroup you will find these in the relevant section further down the gallery. The Bluesky social network has a lot of natural history experts who will help you if you label your posts with the appropriate "hashtags" so that they see them, e.g. #fungi, #ladybirds, #wasps, etc.
Many wildlife groups have their own Facebook groups that offer very useful expert identification help and where these are known they are listed in the NatureSpot galleries. The more specialist the group, the more likely you are to get reliable identification help. Here are some of the most useful online identification sources (search on Facebook for other groups).
- Bees & Wasps: BWARS
- Beetles: Leicestershire and Rutland Coleoptera Recording Scheme
- Butterflies & Moths: Butterflies & Moths of Leicestershire & Rutland
- Ichneumon wasps: British Ichneumonoidea
- Flies, Craneflies: UK Diptera
- Hoverflies: UK Hoverflies
- Sawflies: British & Irish Sawflies
- Dragonflies & Damselflies: Leicestershire & Rutland Dragonfly Group
- Molluscs: Land & Freshwater Molluscs
- Fungi: British Mycological Society (fungi)
- Slime Moulds: UK Slime Moulds
- Dragonflies & Damselflies: Leicestershire & Rutland Dragonfly Group
- Plants: Wild Plant Group UK & Ireland
- Plant Galls: British Plant Galls
If your species is identified for you, submit the record but please state the person's name and the group and quote the response given in a comment on your record.
4. Submit a record as an 'unknown species'
Every record submitted to NatureSpot is checked by an expert. If 'accepted' you know you have a correct identification. If not you'll get some feedback to help you for next time. If our expert recognises the species as something different to what you thought, he/she may amend the record so it can then be accepted. Remember you can always edit a record after it has been submitted. If you have a quality photo but are still struggling to identify it then you can try submitting a record to NatureSpot by choosing the '? unknown' option on the recording form. We may not be able to identify it but we will try!