How to submit records

iRecord:  we are keen to encourage submission of records via iRecord which is an on-line recording system that you can use for all your natural history sightings.  It has the great advantage to you that you can view and manage all the records that you have entered and you are able to attach pictures in support of your id plus any additional comments that will help in the verification of records.  As County Moth Recorder I can then view and verify or query/comment on any records on-line.

The alternative preferred method of submission is via Mapmate.  It is cheap and easy to use and more details can be found on the Mapmate website. Current purchase cost is £32, with a low annual licence fee to cover further updates.  Although this allows direct synchronisation between recorders and the central hub, we would prefer to recieve your data extracted from MapMate into Excel.


If you maintain records in Excel, when submitting via Excel, it is highly recommended you copy your records into this simple template as this will make our job in dealing with the high volume of data from West Kent much easier.

However, if using your own Excel spreadsheet, please ensure that the following information is submitted for each individual record. There should be a single record on each line with the items listed below used as the column headings along the top row:
  • Species name - English and/or scientific name. For micros please be sure to put at least the scientific name, and for macros please be sure to put at least the English name. It is useful but not essential to have Bradley and Fletcher numbers or the new numbers from the Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles (Agassiz et al)
  • Quantity - precise number please, however, if numbers weren't precisely counted, an estimate is preferred over a simple indication of presence. Where the recorder has no idea of quantity, then 0 can be used to indicate presence. 
  • Site name
  • Grid reference - six-figure preferred. If you are not sure of the Grid Reference for your site(s), please click here for more information. 
  • Recorder's name
  • Determiner's name - if different from the recorder i.e. who identified it. This is important if there are any queries over the identification. 
  • Date - in dd/mm/yyyy format 
  • Method - e.g. daytime observation, dusking or actinic light trap. Please differentiate between different types of trap if possible, e.g. Robinson, Skinner, type of bulb etc. 
  • Stage - e.g. adult, larval, case etc

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