Is There An App To Identify Insects

Free mobile apps put identification tools in your hand

Now you can bring along robust identification tools from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Identification Technology Program for the information you need to support accurate field screening and identification. These apps put professional-level identification keys in your pocket. When invasive pests may be on the move, it helps to have trusted information at hand.

These 10 free apps for all smartphones and tablets are available for download from Google Play for Android devices, or from Apple iTunes for iOS devices.

Download the identification keys as mobile apps

Citrus Pests Key

Designed to help users determine which type of citrus insect pest they have encountered. Features an interactive key coupled with illustrated, descriptive fact sheets for each pest. Perfect for plant professionals with access to a light microscope and hand lens.

Citrus Diseases Key

An illustrated identification key that encompasses citrus diseases in the US as well as those of immediate concern. Designed for use by US quarantine officials responsible for inspecting imports, and by federal, state and local domestic survey and identification personnel.

Citrus ID Key

Facilitates identification to at least the cultivar group level within citrus, and beyond for select cultivars. Features original illustrations and photography. App is primarily intended to assist with pest surveys in orchards, variety collections, and home gardens.

Dried Botanicals Key

Created so that both the professional botanist, who knows the difference between the Agaricales and Polyporales, and the amateur, who may not be able to distinguish a bracket fungus from stem pith, can achieve accurate identification for a dried specimen.

Federal Noxious
Weeds Key

Thirty-one families of Federal Noxious Weeds are represented on this app with helpful photography, original illustrations, and detailed fact sheets covering individual species and species complexes. Perfect for field use out of range of Internet access.

Grasshoppers of the Western US

Designed to facilitate the identification of 76 species of adult grasshoppers. The keys are designed for people with varying degrees of knowledge identifying rangeland grasshoppers, from the general enthusiast to research scientist.

Palm Screening Aid Key

Designed to help the non-expert in identifying palm pests they may have. The app covers the arthropod pests of palms, including mites and insects. The identification keys can take the user to class, order, family, genus, or species.

Palm Symptoms Key

Perfect for preliminary field diagnosis of palm problems. Intended for non-experts working with Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS), National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), or other agricultural agencies & organizations. Can be used with the naked eye or a hand lens.

Palm ID Key

Designed to help users identify 82 commonly cultivated palm species from 48 genera. App is Illustrated with hundreds of images of species and their characteristics or features. Provides identification support for palms commonly cultivated in the US and Caribbean Islands.

Terrestrial Mollusc Key

Designed to assist in the identification of adult terrestrial slugs and snails of agricultural importance. Also includes species of quarantine significance as well as invasive and contaminant mollusc species commonly intercepted at US ports. Includes 33 families and 128 species.

TortAI Key

The Tortricids of Agricultural Importance (TortAI) Key aids in identifying tortricid adults during domestic surveys and larvae encountered during quarantine inspections. Perfect for persons in the continental United States performing surveys for exotic species or during port of entry inspections.