# How can I find certain observations? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [August 22, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732 "2022-08-22T22:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![echocreek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/echocreek/32/4061_2.png) [@echocreek](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/echocreek)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 10:11pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/1 "2022-08-22T22:11:30Z")
I would like to find certain observations, that I did over the last couple of years. For example how can I find all of my observed moths in my area? If I enter in the " Filter" under description/tags the word “moth” only a few of my observations are showing up. If I enter “Lepidoptera” even fewer moths and butterflies are showing up. Any idea what to enter or how to do this kind of search? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![thomaseverest](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/thomaseverest/32/63220_2.png) [@thomaseverest](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/thomaseverest)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/2 "2022-08-22T22:16:16Z")
It sounds like you need to be using the species search bar instead of the description filter. If you’re asking specifically for a moth search, that’s been discussed in several places that I’ve gathered in the following link: [https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/why-can-we-sort-out-a-search-by-butterfly-but-not-moth/24004/3](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/why-can-we-sort-out-a-search-by-butterfly-but-not-moth/24004/3) ---
**Author:** ![chrisangell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/chrisangell/32/20651_2.png) [@chrisangell](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/chrisangell)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/3 "2022-08-22T22:19:23Z")
If you search for moth in “description/tags”, only the observations where you typed the word moth in your description will show up. You want to enter Lepidoptera in the Species box here: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/5/3/53c9430a695a4f6bcfe5ce9131135dd0cececbb0.jpeg) If you want to exclude butterflies and just look at moths, you can add `&without_taxon_id=47224` to the end of your URL, as they explain in the thread Thomas linked above. ---
**Author:** ![echocreek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/echocreek/32/4061_2.png) [@echocreek](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/echocreek)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/4 "2022-08-22T23:42:23Z")
Thanks, that suggestion looks like it is working especially with the add on. But in general how do I find these numbers: eg id=47224 is butterflies? ---
**Author:** ![chrisangell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/chrisangell/32/20651_2.png) [@chrisangell](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/chrisangell)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 3:43am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/5 "2022-08-23T03:43:44Z")
Every taxon has an ID number, which you can most easily find in the URL of the taxon page. For example, if you go to [Lepidoptera’s page](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47157-Lepidoptera) you can see the number 47157 in the address bar. That’s the ID number for Lepidoptera, which will also automatically be part of the URL when you search for Lepidoptera. ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/c/b/cbab75bd0f5d6d14be2909375c302395956ba372.jpeg) Likewise, if you go to [the page for Papilionoidea (butteflies)](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47224-Papilionoidea), it shows 47224. ---
**Author:** ![echocreek](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/echocreek/32/4061_2.png) [@echocreek](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/echocreek)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/6 "2022-08-23T15:16:52Z")
thank you so much ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/how-can-i-find-certain-observations/34732/7 "2022-10-22T15:17:18Z")
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.