<\/p>\n
Reflecting on a Transformative Year: eButterfly\u2019s 2024 Journey<\/h2>\n
As 2024 comes to an end, we at eButterfly are brimming with pride over what has been a groundbreaking year. Our mission to empower community scientists, researchers, and conservationists has soared to new heights, thanks to your dedication and our shared passion for butterflies. Together, we\u2019ve achieved milestones that not only highlight our growth but also strengthen the impact of butterfly conservation worldwide.<\/p>\n
A Year of Soaring Growth and Tech Evolution<\/h2>\n
This year, our eButterfly community blossomed! With over 4,000 registered users, including 1,049 active contributors, we\u2019ve doubled last year\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n
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The launch of our brand-new mobile app in May played a pivotal role in this growth. Offering real-time logging and intuitive features, the app has been downloaded more than 2,000 times and earned a stellar 4.8\/5 user rating. Impressively, 23% of our submissions this year came from this new tool, proving that technology truly can transform community science.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the platform itself saw an explosion of data: 60,629 new butterfly records across 12,576 checklists! These contributions, documenting 269,054 individuals from 1,930 species worldwide, were often accompanied by stunning photos\u2014over 42,000 in total! Your efforts are creating an unparalleled dataset for conservation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our outreach initiatives this year have brought people together across continents. Webinars on topics ranging from butterfly ecology to our platform\u2019s tools drew large and eager audiences. Workshops in Panama and Colombia were particularly impactful, with the efforts of our local ambassadors, Juliana Villada and Kevin Gauthier, laying the groundwork for long-term partnerships in South America. Together with schools and groups like Panama\u2019s \u201cowl_whisperer\u201d and Colombia\u2019s \u201cCasa de Mariposas,\u201d students and volunteers have recorded an incredible wealth of data.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019re also proud of our continued work to protect the majestic Monarch butterfly. Collaborating with organizations like Mission Monarch and the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, we contributed to the International Monarch Monitoring Blitz, which logged 11,647 observations\u2014a huge success!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Collaboration has been a cornerstone of our achievements. Our partnership with the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA) continues to push the boundaries of AI-driven butterfly identification. This year alone, eButterfly data contributed to 23 peer-reviewed papers, tackling topics like migration, climate change, and species distribution modelling. Your contributions directly feed into groundbreaking science.<\/p>\n With great growth comes challenges. The sheer volume of data necessitated enhancements to our automated verification tools, and we are constantly encouraging users to participate in record identification. For those interested, our identification tutorial is an excellent starting point (Read it now by clicking here!<\/a>).<\/p>\n Additionally, taxonomic updates across the globe impacted our AI model predictions and the species names our platform can process. To address this, we\u2019re developing a robust system for updating taxonomy in 2025, including a new method called “Geo splits” to manage geography-based species naming seamlessly. Finally, maintaining engagement among casual users remains a priority, and we\u2019re exploring gamification and personalized feedback to keep the community active.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.e-butterfly.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/eb11-1.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nConnecting People, Schools, and Communities<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAdvancing Research Through Innovation<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nOvercoming Challenges<\/h2>\n
Looking Ahead: The Flight Plan for 2025<\/h2>\n