Support

Questions, problems, or a bug with the wrong name? We'd love to hear from you.

Contact us

Found a bug (the software kind), have a question, or spotted a species with the wrong name? We'd love to hear from you.

Or, if you use GitHub, open an issue.

Common questions

Does BugJug need an internet connection?
No. Everything, including identification, works in airplane mode.

How do I move my pets to a new phone?
In Settings (⚙️ on the shelf), use Export a backup, then Import a backup on the new phone. Both ask a grown-up first.

BugJug didn't recognise my bug.
Get close so the bug fills the square, in good light. Some bugs show up as a mystery shape; you can change the species later with Change species… in the pet's jar menu.

Safety & terms

BugJug is a game for learning about and enjoying bugs. It is not a safety, medical or scientific tool.

Identifications can be wrong. BugJug guesses what a bug is from a photo, on this phone, and it often makes mistakes, especially with bugs it hasn't seen before. Never rely on BugJug to tell whether a bug is harmless, venomous, poisonous, or safe to touch or handle. Facts shown in the app come from Wikipedia and may be incomplete.

Look, don't touch. Some insects, spiders and other creatures bite, sting or cause allergic reactions. Photograph bugs from a safe distance and don't pick them up.

Mind your surroundings. Pay attention to where you are when using the camera outdoors: watch for traffic, water, uneven ground, plants that sting or cause rashes, and other hazards. Don't use the app while walking somewhere it isn't safe to look at a screen.

Grown-ups: please supervise children when they go bug hunting.

If someone is stung or bitten and feels unwell, or has signs of an allergic reaction, contact your local emergency number or poison control right away.

BugJug is provided "as is", without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, its makers are not liable for any injury, loss or damage arising from use of the app, including from actions taken while using it or from relying on its identifications. Nothing here limits rights you have under the law where you live.

Credits

Identification models: Insecta by Genius-Society / quarrying-insect-id (MIT licence), and BioCLIP by the Imageomics Institute (MIT licence; Stevens et al., CVPR 2024).
Species names and occurrence data: GBIF.org.
"Did you know?" facts: excerpts from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Fun facts about each bug family: written with the help of Claude, an AI by Anthropic, from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) or public-domain US government pages, named under each one.
Globe outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).