Exploring Nature in the San Francisco Bay Area
I saw a bunch of spiders hanging from structures in the middle of their webs. What are they and why do they do that? Looks like you’ve stumbled across one of the more interesting web builders of the Bay Area, the spiders of the genus Metepeira! Not only are members of this genus native to…
Many people generally think of sea stars as slow, almost immobile animals, living in tidepools or in along the shoreline, feeding slowly on clams and mussels. So here’s something you might not know: sea stars can capture and devour small moving animals. There are over 1,900 species of sea stars (also called starfish or asteroids)…
Opossums are having a bit of a moment thanks to the internet. America’s only marsupial – the Virginia opossum Didelphis virginiana — is what many consider unlovely. Gray fur and a bare, prehensile tail make it look rather rat-like. Beady eyes and a gaping mouth don’t help the image; their teeth look sharp, and they…
For those who are unaware of Point Reyes Station, it is a small town adjacent to Point Reyes National Seashore and the quaint town of Inverness. It’s the type of town that tourists flock to on the weekends and most travelers of Highway 1 venture through as they make their way along the California coast.…
I found this on my front door — it looks like needles in a circular motion with white tips. What is it? The small “needles” that start to decorate doors, plants, and just about any surface imaginable this time of year are from an often overlooked family of insects known as the green lacewings (Chrysopidae).…
An ecological history of a massive ranch for sale in the Bay Area.
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
