Bay Nature: Bay Area Insects
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to thousands of insect species, from ladybugs overwintering in your walls to hawk moths mistaken for hummingbirds to glowworms lighting up East Bay hillsides after dark. Bay Nature has been covering Bay Area insects for 25 years; the strange, the surprising, and the ones living right under your nose. Scroll down for answers.
winter’s most unexpected houseguest
What to Do When Ladybugs Make Your Home Theirs?
Every fall, the multicolored Asian lady beetle moves indoors to overwinter, and California’s native convergent ladybug heads to the hills. Bay Nature explains what is actually in your house and what to do about it.
–California’s WINGED WONDERS–
BAY AREA MOTHS, BUTTERFLIES, SKIPPERS AND MORE
What Is This Moth That’s Almost as Big as a Hummingbird?
The white-lined sphinx moth is one of the most abundant hawk moths in North America; it hovers at flowers, feeds on nectar in mid-air, and is regularly mistaken for a hummingbird. Bay Nature’s naturalist identifies this Bay Area insect and explains how to find one.
Skippers: Between Butterfly and Moth
Skippers are technically butterflies but fly like neither moth nor butterfly. The Bay Area has about 30 species; a self-taught lepidopterist explains how to tell them apart and where to find them.
How to Watch Butterflies and Their Migrations
One afternoon in San Francisco’s Richmond District, a lepidopterist watched dozens of California tortoiseshell butterflies blasting down Fulton Street in a mass emergence. Bay Nature explains how to read butterfly behavior and what to look for when migrations happen.
Moth Goggles
Bay Nature’s spring 2026 magazine feature on moths and how to see them. Bay Nature members get full access.
–THE INSECTS IN YOUR BACKYARD–
FROM GOLDEN BEETLES TO STINGLESS BEES, AND MORE
What’s Small, Ladybug-Like, and Golden All Over?
A Bay Area reader found what looked like a golden ladybug on her carpet and thought she had dropped a piece of jewelry. It was actually a golden tortoise beetle; one of the few insects that can change color at will. Bay Nature’s naturalist explains how it works.
New Colony of a Rare Stingless Bee Found By a Four-Year-Old in Palo Alto
A Brazilian stingless bee was introduced to Palo Alto in 1948, presumed gone for 70 years, and then rediscovered by a four-year-old on a neighborhood walk. We cover the detective story behind one of the Bay Area’s most unexpected insect discoveries.
The Cuckoo Wasp: A Gorgeous Parasite
California is a center of cuckoo wasp biodiversity in North America with 166 species. These iridescent blue-green wasps are among the most visually striking insects in the Bay Area; Bay Nature explains how they parasitize other insects and why their brilliant colors may serve no purpose at all.
Beetlemania: When All the Lady Beetles Come Together Now
Every winter, hundreds of thousands of convergent ladybugs migrate to the Bay Area hills and cluster together at sites like Redwood Regional Park. Bay Nature covers where to find them, why they gather, and how California’s changing landscape is shifting their behavior.
Get Bay Nature in Your Inbox
Join 25,000+ Bay Area nature lovers who get our weekly newsletter. Bay Area insect sightings, species spotlights, foraging updates, and new stories every week.
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 entomologists, naturalists, and scientists behind our stories. Whether you’re learning to identify Bay Area insects on a guided walk, spotting hawk moths at dusk, or attending an expert-led talk on California’s native bees, every event is a chance to see the Bay Area through expert eyes.
75+
Events Per Year
5,000+
Members and Guests Annually
25+
Years of Bay Nature
Upcoming Bay Nature Events and Talks
Alhambra Hills Open Space Hike with Jamie Fox
This 297-acre preserve including land once owned by John Muir was once slated for development. After 12 years of grassroots organizing led by Jamie Fox it was saved, and it opened to the public in February 2025.
Bay Nature Talk: Mothing with Allen Fish and Cat Chang
Join Bay Nature and expert naturalists Cat Chang and Allen Fish for a virtual talk about moths and those who watch them. We’re surrounded by a world of insects that we barely notice. Tune in to learn more about moth appreciation and how you can dive into the lives of moths on your own. Live Q&A to follow.
Bay Nature Event: The Marine Mammal Center
Join Bay Nature for a private tour of the Marine Mammal Center before it opens to the public. During this 60-minute walking tour led by an expert docent, you’ll hear stories of marine mammal survival and learn how you can make a difference for these vulnerable patients.
Bay Nature Talk: Leucistic Birds with Eric Schroeder
Join Bay Nature and birder Eric Schroeder for a virtual talk about leucism in birds. Leucism is a rare condition in which a bird’s plumage has white feathers that aren’t normally white. Cornell Lab estimates one in 30,000 birds has leucistic or albinistic plumage. Live Q&A to follow.
Become 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.
-
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.
-
Naturalist-Led Hikes and Field Trips Free access to guided outdoor experiences across the Bay Area led by ecologists, scientists, and expert naturalists.
-
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.
-
Member Rates to Special Events Discounted access to the annual Local Hero Awards and other ticketed Bay Nature events and gatherings.
-
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.
