Bay Area Insects
The San Francisco Bay Area is buzzing, crawling, and fluttering with life. For 25 years, Bay Nature has celebrated the insects that make this place so wonderfully alive.
FIND THEM, WATCH THEM, KNOW THEM
How to Watch Butterflies and Their Migrations
From migrating monarchs and painted ladies to swallowtails in dappled sunlight, the Bay Area’s butterflies are easier to find once you know what to look for. Bay Nature’s guide to watching, tracking, and getting close to them.
THE COLORS OF BAY AREA BUTTERFLIES
The Color of Flight
The Bay Area is home to around 240 butterfly species, from shimmering Sonora blues to jaw-dropping two-tailed swallowtails. Bay Nature’s illustrated guide to where and when to find the region’s most beautiful wings.
–RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE–
Backyard Bugs, Meet Your Neighbors
What To Do When Ladybugs Make Your Home Theirs?
Every fall, ladybugs cluster indoors to overwinter, and not all of them are the native species you’d expect. Here’s what’s actually in your walls and what to do about it.
What’s Small, Ladybug-Like, and Golden All Over?
This tiny beetle shines like gold, then shifts color when it’s stressed. One naturalist put it best: “they’re good when they’re golden.”
The Cuckoo Wasp: A Gorgeous Parasite
A jewel-colored wasp that sneaks its eggs into other insects’ nests, curls into an armored ball when caught, and simply tries again. Meet the cuckoo wasp.
What Is This Moth That’s Almost as Big as a Hummingbird?
It hovers at flowers, sips nectar in mid-air, and is almost the size of a hummingbird. But it’s actually a moth.
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Bay Nature Talks and Hikes
from the page to the trail
Bay Nature’s guided hikes and talks put you in the field alongside the naturalists and scientists behind our stories, from spotting hawk moths at dusk to identifying native bees. Every event is a chance to see the Bay Area through expert eyes.
75+
Events Per Year
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Members and Guests Annually
25+
Years of Bay Nature
Upcoming Bay Nature Events and Talks
Summer Bug Safari: China Camp State Park
Wander China Camp’s grasslands, oak woodlands, and bay shoreline in search of beetles, bees, grasshoppers, and the surprising web of life that connects them.
Register NowUpcoming Events
Summer Bug Safari: The Gardens at Lake Merritt
Loop through the themed gardens at Lake Merritt hunting for bees, butterflies, and dragonflies among flowering plants from around the world.
Join the Waitlist
Summer Bug Safari: Windy Hill Preserve
Explore Windy Hill’s ponds, meadows, and oak woodlands on the hunt for dragonflies, damselflies, and the season’s last great bug safari.
Register Now
Bay Nature Talk: Summer Fog in the Bay Area
Join Professor Daniel Fernandez for a virtual talk on how summer fog forms and why it matters ecologically, timed to peak “Fogust” season.
Register NowBecome a Member
Join the Bay Area’s essential nature community.
For 25 years, Bay Nature has connected people to the natural world of the San Francisco Bay Area through award-winning journalism, guided outdoor experiences, and a community built on curiosity and care. Your membership makes all of it possible.
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Bay Nature Magazine, Print and Digital Four issues a year of in-depth stories, stunning photography, and original artwork delivered to your door and available online.
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Naturalist-Led Hikes and Field Trips Free access to guided outdoor experiences across the Bay Area led by ecologists, scientists, and expert naturalists.
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Live Talks with Scientists and Writers Free access to online seminars featuring the experts and storytellers behind our reporting. Live Q&A included, recordings available anytime.
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Member Rates to Special Events Discounted access to the annual Local Hero Awards and other ticketed Bay Nature events and gatherings.
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Support Independent Nature Journalism Your membership directly supports independent, nonprofit, award-winning environmental journalism for the San Francisco Bay Area.
About BAY NATURE
Bay Nature is an independent nonprofit publication based in Berkeley, California.
Bay Nature is an independent nonprofit publication based in Berkeley, California. For 25 years we have covered the natural world of the San Francisco Bay Area, from the insects in your garden to the wildlife on your doorstep.
We publish a quarterly print magazine, report new stories every week, and run one of the Bay Area’s largest nature events programs, from entomologist-guided walks to expert-led talks. As an independent nonprofit, we rely on the support of readers, members, and donors who believe the Bay Area’s natural world is worth covering.
25+
Years covering Bay Area nature, science, and conservation
1M+
Annual visitors reading Bay Nature’s award-winning stories online.
75+
Events per year including hikes, expert talks and special events.
