This page is to provide examples of what iNaturalistUK users are saying about iNaturalist.

We will add to this page as we receive more user comments. We hope that it will be helpful in providing you with further information as you decide which tool is best for you to use

Contributor: N Sawyer

Benefits

  • I use it not just for invertebrates that I have never seen before but also to confirm an ID of something I think I have seen previously – checking through books and specialist websites such as those for British Bugs or Moths can be very time consuming if you are starting from a low level knowledge base.  Although where possible I try to cross check an iNaturalist ID against other source. I think for these reasons iNaturalist helps empower people like myself by giving them the means to recognise invertebrates that are familiar to them or that are different and therefore need to be investigated more.
  • It is the speed and ease of response that are important and which is very useful.
  • And then there is the thrill of being the first to report an insect from a specific country or site.  I have had a long-horned beetle ID’ed and recorded as the first for Panama (and in a hotel used by many naturalists, mainly birders).  That is exciting for me and I am sure other iNaturalist users feel the same.
  • It is also good when your records are picked up by a project – the enthusiasm the project owners have can help inspire and make you want to contribute more.
  • We all hope to record something new in a place but I get as much pleasure at being able to help build up the list of species from specific areas (such as Richmond Park and Rye Meads RSPB reserve in my case) as I do from recording a rare species.

Drawbacks

  • My only real issue with iNaturalist would be that some insect groups (for example Leafhoppers) are not  very well supported – there are no doubt few people with the knowledge to help with the IDs.  This is not a criticism of iNaturalist itself because by its very nature iNaturalist relies on volunteers (experts) to make it work.  I just wished more specialists would use the site!

Source: N Sawyer by Email August 2024

 

Contributor: S Bushes

Benefits

  • Use of the autosuggest. Being able to get an instant idea of genus, family, or even order(!) is a massive help when you are first starting out and learning.
  • The more UK users feed images into the training model, the better it will become at being able to ID UK species, so it gives one a sense of contributing to this bigger goal too.
  • Being able to help others with identification makes one feel less like one is just taking without giving. The system is more like a skill-sharing and learning / teaching opportunity.
  • In addition, it is just more of a social and community space to record in. The Facebook groups are like this in UK, but the Facebook groups don´t automatically record any of the data which passes through them and simply aren´t built for biological recording. Meanwhile, though iRecord is built for recording, its not a social space.
  • Exceptional design! The user friendly interface isn´t just easier to use than the other options, its also speedier to use. You can upload a lot more observations in a lot less time. This means more time spent out and about enjoying nature itself.
  • Sharing a support network with the broader global community is really helpful ( there are experts on iNaturalist in some areas that we simply don´t have in the UK for example )
  • Better awareness of global biodiversity – great way to armchair travel!

Source S Bushes on the iNaturalist Forum 15 April 2021