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THE gardening section in DistrictMail of 28 March reported an excellent piece of reptile detecting by Stanley Oosthuizen of Strand. If you have a digital camera and access to e-mail and internet, then there is another way of identifying snakes, lizards, tortoises and butterflies that you come across.

The Animal Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town, in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute, is conducting conservation assessment projects for reptiles and butterflies. South Africa is incredibly rich in both types of animals, with 671 species of butterfly and about 400 species of reptile.

The projects are gathering information on species' distributions, which will be a useful tool for conservation.

One way in which information is gathered is by means of an on-line Virtual Museum. Members of the public e-mail photos of reptiles and butterflies to the projects, along with some basic information such as the observer's name, a description of the locality, and a GPS position.

The photos and information are then uploaded onto the Virtual Museums, where participants can check for identifications of "their" creatures, made by a panel of experts. Photos from anywhere, including your gardens, are welcome.

The reptile project co-ordinator is Marienne de Villiers, from Somerset West. Details of how to submit reptile records to the reptile Virtual Museum can be found at http://sarca.adu.org.za/particip.php.

The butterfly project co-ordinator is Silvia Mecenero of Strand. Details of how to submit butterfly records to the butterfly Virtual Museum can be found at http://sabca.adu.org.za/public.html.Legend.

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