PNW Moths - an Android app for moth identification

• About the Key
• Identifying a Moth
• System Requirements
• Privacy Policy
License Agreement

About the Key Back to top

We have developed a free Android app (PNW Moths) to use to identify the >1,200 moth species found on this website. Unlike many free apps, the PNW Moths Android app has no in-app ads. To use the PNW Moths Android app, first download it from the Google Play store  and install it on your Android device.  

The PNW Moths Android app allows one to make identifications based on a variety of features relating to location, date, size, shape, and the colors and patterns on the wings and body. To make it as user-friendly as possible the PNW Moths Android app has examples to illustrate each feature, but if you come across terms with which you are unfamiliar, you may also find the Glossary on this website helpful. Also, unlike with a traditional dichotomous key, the order in which features are selected does not matter, meaning that you can choose from the features with which you are most certain.

Identifying a Moth Back to top

When you open the app, it will look like this:



From there, you have the ability to take a photo of a moth and then use the app to identify it or you can just use the app to identify a moth without having taken a photo of it. 

To take a photo, touch the Camera icon on the bottom menu and then touch one of the four larger camera icons on the camera page. Doing so will open up your device's camera, allowing you to take a photo. If you are satisfied with the photo, select OK, and then the photo will be added, like this:



Next, touch the Identify icon (moth with question mark) on the bottom menu and then use the scrollable menu across the middle of the page to see the choices of features relating to Distribution, Seasonality, Overall Size, Wing Shape and Size, Forewing Color and Pattern, Hindwing Color and Pattern, Abdomen and Thorax, and Eye Hairiness. Touching any of these menu items will open up a submenu that may have one or more features nested in it. In the example below, Distribution has been selected, and within that, the option of In Which Ecoregion In Washington? has been selected. Under that submenu, there is a scrollable list of possible answers. 



If you are unsure of how to answer a question, you can use a long touch of each answer to see an image illustrating what is meant by that answer, as shown here:



To select an answer, touch it briefly to highlight that answer. It is possible to highlight multiple answers to a given question. Doing so will retain more possible matches because the key interprets a selection of multiple answers as OR, not AND.

In most cases, there will still be many possible species after your initial selection. In this case, selecting Columbia Plateau narrowed the list to 650 matches. To narrow the list further, you will need to select from more features. The app will show you the matching species only after the list has been narrowed down to 20 or fewer possible matches. You can scroll through this list of images to find one that matches your moth or you can reduce the list further by choosing from more features. 



If you are uncertain how to distinguish among similar species or if you want to read more about the species you have identified, this website has detailed descriptions of each species. The fastest way to find a particular species on this website is to use your browser's search function on this page .

If you are identifying a moth that you have not taken a photograph of using the app, touch the Identify icon on the bottom of the blank opening page, and the feature menu will appear (allowing you to follow the same steps for identification as described above) but you won't see a photo in the upper left portion of the page. At this point, the Identify page will look like this:



Once you have identified a moth, you can record the information on your observation and identification for future reference. To record this information on your device, touch the image of the matching species, after which you will be asked if you want to add your observation. Approving this addition will record your observation, allowing you to add it to a searchable list of prior observations. To see the locations of your prior observations of this species, select the Map icon on the bottom menu and enter the species name, as shown here:



You also have the option of uploading your observation to the PNW Moths Android app server. Doing so will record your photograph(s) of the moth and the date and location of your observation. No other information is recorded when you upload your observations. Observations recorded to the PNW Moths Android app server are not shown on this website. To record your observation to the PNW Moths Android app, select the Observations icon (third icon from left), and then select Upload.



System Requirements Back to top

The PNW Moths Android app is only available for Android devices at present and requires an internet connection. We plan to develop an iPhone version of the app in the future.

Privacy Policy Back to top

Last modified on June 24, 2021

This is the privacy policy of the PNW Moths Android app. This policy describes how the PNW Moths app handles personal information the app can access on your Android device, as well as how the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium handles any information (personal or otherwise) that you choose to share with us via the PNW Moths app.

This privacy policy is subject to our License Agreement . The Pacific Northwest Moths consortium may update it from time to time, as specified in the "Privacy Policy Changes" section below.

YOUR CONSENT

You should read this entire Privacy Policy before submitting information to the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium via the PNW Moths Android app. Whenever you submit information (personal or otherwise) to us via the PNW Moths Android app, you consent to the collection, use disclosure, transfer, and storage of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

TYPES OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT

The Pacific Northwest Moths consortium does not collect information from you via your use of the PNW Moths Android app, unless you choose to share that information with us. The only information the PNW Moths Android app accesses is photographs and associated metadata (date and location information) for observations you have collected via the PNW Moths Android app on your Android device. For observations you do not choose to share with the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium, the information is only stored on your Android device. If you choose to share observations with the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium by uploading those observations via the app, the photographs from each shared observation and metadata associated with those photographs (date and location information) will be also be stored on a Firebase server and are subject to the Google privacy policy . 

INFORMATION USE AND DISCLOSURE

Data from observations that you choose to share with us and that are subsequently stored on the Firebase server will not be available to the general public or to other users of the PNW Moths Android app. 

PRIVACY POLICY CHANGES

Although most changes are likely to be minor, the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, at the discretion of the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium. If any changes to this Privacy Policy are made we will post the updated Privacy Policy here and will provide the date of the update at the top of the Privacy Policy. Any changes to the Privacy Policy are effective immediately upon posting, so you are encouraged to check the Privacy Policy often to be aware of current terms and conditions that apply to you. Your continued use of the PNW Moths Android app after any changes to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such changes.

License Agreement Back to top

This License Agreement constitutes an agreement between you and the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium with regard to the PNW Moths Android app. By installing the PNW Moths Android app, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this license agreement. Your use of the PNW Moths Android app (as specified below) is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this License Agreement. If you do not accept the terms of this License Agreement, do not install or use the PNW Moths Android app.

LICENSE

The PNW Moths Android app is licensed, not sold. The Pacific Northwest Moths consortium grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited right and license to use this PNW Moths Android app for your personal non-commercial use. The rights granted herein are subject to your compliance with this License Agreement. The PNW Moths Android app is being licensed to you and you hereby acknowledge that no title or ownership in the PNW Moths Android app is being transferred or assigned and this License Agreement is not to be construed as a sale of any rights in the App.

RESTRICTIONS OF USE

Unless the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium has authorized you to distribute the PNW Moths Android app, you shall not make or distribute copies of the PNW Moths Android app. You shall not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, include in other software, or translate the PNW Moths Android app, or use the App for any commercial purposes. You shall not modify, alter, change or otherwise make any modification to the PNW Moths Android app or create derivative works based upon the PNW Moths Android app. You shall not rent, lease, resell, sub-license, assign, distribute or otherwise transfer the PNW Moths Android app or this license. Any attempt to do so shall be void and of no effect.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the PNW Moths Android app are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium or other third parties. Your use of the App grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any Pacific Northwest Moths or third-party trademarks. This agreement does not transfer to you any Pacific Northwest Moths consortium or third-party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain solely with the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium or such owners.

COPYRIGHT

You acknowledge that no title to the intellectual property in the PNW Moths Android app or ownership rights of the PNW Moths Android app is transferred to you. You shall not remove or obscure any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices from any of the materials contained in this package or downloaded together with the PNW Moths Android app.

OPEN SOURCE

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium, its code contributors, its contractors, and its licensors and members, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of the publishing of the PNW Moths Android app source code or the acceptance of code contributions from outside parties.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

The PNW Moths Android app is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind. We disclaim and make no express or implied warranties and specifically disclaim the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement of third-party rights. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the PNW Moths Android app is with you. We do not warrant that the functions contained in the PNW Moths Android app will meet your requirements or that the operation of the PNW Moths Android app will be error-free.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

In no event will the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium be liable for special, incidental or consequential damages resulting from possession, access, use or malfunction of the PNW Moths Android app, including but not limited to damages to property, loss of goodwill, computer or mobile device malfunction and, to the extent permitted by law, damages for personal injuries, property damage, lost profits or punitive damages from any causes of action arising out of or related to this License Agreement or the PNW Moths Android app, whether arising in tort (including negligence), contract, strict liability or otherwise and whether or not the the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Because some states/countries do not allow certain limitations of liability, this limitation of liability shall apply to the fullest extent permitted by law in the applicable jurisdiction. This limitation of liability shall not be applied solely to the extent that any specific provision of this limitation of liability is prohibited by any federal, state, or municipal law, which cannot be pre-empted. This License Agreement gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In no event shall the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium's liability for all damages (except as required by applicable law) exceed the actual price paid by you for use of the PNW Moths Android app.

QUERIES

You may contact the Pacific Northwest Moths consortium at the address below with any questions, complaints or claims regarding the PNW Moths Android app:
Email: pnwmoths@gmail.com