California Native Bee Society

World Bee Day (San Diego)
2026-05-17 13:30 - 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Japanese Friendship Garden, 2215 Pan American E Rd, San Diego, CA, United States
Come and celebrate World Bee Day at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego!

Bee-o-Blitz at Lake Merritt
2026-05-16 13:00 - 15:00 | The Gardens at Lake Merrit, 666 Bellevue Ave, Oakland, CA, United States
Kick off the first Bee-o-Blitz at Lake Merritt with Vidur Thammineni! Learn more about the project here: https://calnbs.org/bee-o-blitz/
Make sure to join the iNaturalist project.
Contact info@calnbs.org with questions!

Bilingual Bee-o-Blitz with the Bugologist
2026-05-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Sweetwater Park, 845 E St, Chula Vista, CA, 91910, United States
Join a bilingual Bee-O-Blitz expedition at Sweetwater Park in Chula Vista for an easy, family-friendly hike through the trails. Your English/Spanish guide will help participants look for native bees, learn why they matter to our region, and take part in the California Statewide Bee-O-Blitz. Free parking is available on-site, and all ages are welcome. Please leave dogs at home to help protect the local wildlife.
Click Here To Register.

iNaturalist and Bee Photography Tips
2026-05-14 19:30 - 20:30
Join us for a quick refresher on how to take photos for iNaturalist as we gear up for our Bee-o-Blitz events! Click here to register for the Zoom.

Monthly Meeting: Kevin Huntley
2026-05-12 18:30 - 20:00
What’s Buzz’n in Humboldt?
Since my founding in 1989, I have been researching the insect kingdom. My lifelong passion for these amazing animals has led me to develop several educational programs for the public. My first program was developed in 2013 for Wyndham in Sedona, Arizona. I was later recognized for my unique talents by the California State Parks where I was allowed to create new insect programs for the Northern Redwoods District starting the summer of 2024 where my success has led me to pursue my dream as an independent insect educator.
Register for the meeting here.

Native Bee Photography Workshop with Ian Wright
2026-05-02 10:00 - 14:00 | Lake Perris State Recreation Area, 17801 Lake Perris Dr., Perris, CA, 92571, United States
Join California Native Bee Society and Ian Wright for an all day workshop at Lake Perris State Recreation Area focusing on topics including:

How to photograph bees
Natural lighting and flash-fill lighting
Dive into photography equipment

Event Details:
Address: 17801 Lake Perris Drive, Perris CA, 92571
Date/Time: May 2, 2026, 10:00am am to 2:00 pm (with breaks and lunch)
Lake Perris SRA has an entrance fee of $10 per car
Refreshments including water and snacks provided, participants must bring their own lunch.
Registration Cost:
Early Bee Members Special: $125 until April 18th
Members: $150, registration increases after April 18th
Non-CalNBS members: $175
Limited spots are available! Please email outreach@calnbs.org with any questions. Register here.
We will be sending confirmation and reminder emails prior to the event. Please make sure to check these for details about how to pay, what to bring, the agenda, and more information!
In case you missed it, view his talk from January here.
Photo by Ian Wright.

Water Conservation Garden Spring Festival
2026-05-02 09:00 - 15:00 | Cuyamaca College, 12122 Cuyamaca College Dr. West, El Cajon, CA, United States
Drop by The Spring Garden & Butterfly Festival to explore 90 different craft vendors and nonprofit partner tables and enjoy butterfly releases. Lots of family friendly activities all around the campus. Learn more at the event website.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve Earth Day
2026-04-25 10:00 - 16:00 | Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, 12600 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA, United States
Come and celebrate Earth Day at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve! Our booth will be on top of the mesa by the lodge. Come learn about bees from us and “The WannaBees,” a group of dedicated community scientists who monitor the bees at the Reserve year-round.
Help with community cleanup along the beach, attend the EcoFair, and/or go on a docent-guided walk.
Note that there is a fee to park at the reserve if you don’t have a California State Parks pass.

Pollinator Garden Festival + Vista LaMesa Pollinator Garden Ribbon Cutting!
2026-04-18 15:00 - 18:00 | Vista La Mesa Christian Church, 4210 Massachusetts Ave, La Mesa, CA, 91941, United States
Wild Ones invites you to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the new Vista La Mesa Pollinator garden in La Mesa, CA. The garden is right across the street from the Vista La Mesa Christian Church, and we will be tabling in their parking lot. The festival will be hosting speakers in the building while people check out the garden. There will be food, crafts, and the Helix High Gardening Club will be running a native flora and fauna themed carnival area! Stop by to say hello.

Paradise Hills Garden Grand Opening!
2026-04-18 10:00 - 15:00 | Paradise Hills Garden, 6800 Potomac Street, San Diego, CA, United States
Come and celebrate the grand opening of the Paradise Hills Native Garden with us! There will be food trucks, treats, booths, crafts, face painting and more!

Monthly Meeting: Lorquin Scholars
2026-04-14 18:30 - 20:00
Register for the Zoom meeting here.
6:30 pm: We’ll spotlight a California native plant that’s been absolutely buzzing with activity lately! Then, we’ll then turn the mic over to community members who’ve been out photographing bees to share what they’ve discovered. If you’d like to participate, please upload your photos using this Google Form. We’ll share your photos on screen, and you can unmute to tell us a bit about the bee you found.

7:00 pm: Cultivating Curiosity: Inspiring the Next Generation with the Lorquin Scholars

Cole Cramer and Connor Hsu are high school juniors with a shared passion for entomology and insect biodiversity. They are the co-founders and co-leaders of the Lorquin Scholars, the youth chapter of the Lorquin Entomological Society, founded in 2023 to encourage young people to study and appreciate insects. Both attended the UC Davis Bio Boot Camp for three summers and have become active youth leaders in entomology through outreach, education, and hands-on field experience.

Through the Lorquin Scholars, Cole and Connor organize hikes, insect surveys, and educational outreach programs that introduce younger students and families throughout Southern California to the important roles insects play in ecosystems. Their work includes teaching insect identification, field collecting techniques, and science communication, while helping foster curiosity and a deeper appreciation for the natural world.

In addition to leading outreach efforts, they conduct independent fieldwork, maintain curated entomology collections, and explore insect diversity through direct experience. They have also attended national professional conferences and represented youth voices at scientific meetings, museum events, and public education programs. Through their work, Cole and Connor hope to inspire the next generation of entomologists.

Festival of the Night Sky
2026-04-11 17:00 - 22:00 | Los Peñosquitos Ranch House, 12122 Canyonside Park Dr., San Diego, CA, United States
We will be tabling at the Festival of the Night Sky, come celebrate International Dark Sky Week with us!

The State of Biodiversity
2026-04-09 17:00 - 21:00 | San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, 92101, United States
We will be hosting a table at the San Diego Natural History Museum’s annual State of Biodiversity event on Thursday, April 9 from 5–9 PM. This event celebrates transnational and multidisciplinary expeditions past, present, and future.
This is a ticketed event with speakers from Baja California and California.

Riverside Insect Fair
2026-04-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Riverside Main Library, 3900 Mission Ave Inn, Riverside, CA, United States
Get excited for the Riverside Insect Fair! There will be 50 vendors, cockroach races, and a swarm of fun activities! Enjoy art from the Riverside Arts Council, Storytime with the Library, learn how to start your own bug collection, and explore a day in the life of UC Riverside’s entomology grad students. It’s sure to be a crawling good time! Drop by our booth to learn about native bees or grab some bee swag!

Monthly Meeting: Dr. Leif Richardson
2026-03-10 18:30 - 20:00
Join us for our virtual monthly meeting!
Register for the Zoom meeting here.
We’ll kick things off at 6:30 pm with a few quick Society updates to get everyone up to speed.
Next up: we’ll spotlight a California native plant that’s been absolutely buzzing with activity lately!
Bee sightings welcome!We’ll then turn the mic over to community members who’ve been out photographing bees to share what they’ve discovered. If you’d like to participate, please upload your photos using this Google Form. We’ll share your photos on screen, and you can unmute to tell us a bit about the bee you found.
At 7:00 pm, we’ll welcome our featured speaker, Dr. Leif Richardson
Dr. Richardson is a conservation biologist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, where he leads the California Bumble Bee Atlas, a community science project to inventory the native bees of the state. In this capacity, he has primary responsibility for most aspects of the project, including training volunteers, obtaining permits, field inventory, species identification, and fundraising. More generally, his research focuses on the ecology, distribution, and declines of North American bumble bees. Dr. Richardson previously worked as an environmental consultant, studying pesticide risk to bee pollinators, and as an ecologist for Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. He is co-author of a range of scientific publications on bees, including Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (2014), the standard reference manual on this group of insects. He is an expert in the inventory and identification of bumble bees, and has extensive experience training others to collect bumble bee distribution data in the field.
If you are interested in joining the CA Bumble Bee Atlas, learn more here.

San Diego Bird Festival
2026-02-28 - 2026-03-01 | Marina Village Conference Center, 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA, United States
We will be tabling at the annual San Diego Bird Festival over the weekend. Drop by, say hello, and grab some bee merch!

Monthly Meeting: Corey Andrikopoulos - The Stingless Bees of Palo Alto
2026-02-10 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual
🌼 Join us for our virtual monthly meeting! 🌼
Register for the Zoom meeting here.
We’ll kick things off at 6:30 pm with a few quick Society updates to get everyone up to speed.
🐝 Next up: we’ll spotlight a California native plant that’s been absolutely buzzing with activity lately!
📸 Bee sightings welcome!We’ll then turn the mic over to community members who’ve been out photographing bees to share what they’ve discovered. If you’d like to participate, please upload your photos using this Google Form. We’ll share your photos on screen, and you can unmute to tell us a bit about the bee you found.
🎤 At 7:00 pm, we’ll welcome our featured speaker, Corey Andrikopoulos to talk about The Stingless Bees of Palo Alto

Corey is a biologist and educator whose career sits at the intersection of ecology, horticulture, and community engagement. After years of conducting pollinator research across the western United States and managing farms along California’s North Coast, Corey found his ideal home in public gardens. He currently serves as Garden Director at the Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden in Palo Alto, where native plants and pollinator-supportive landscapes are central to garden design and public programming.

Tabling at Love Your Wetlands Day
2026-02-07 09:00 - 14:00 | Kendall Frost Marsh, 2055 Pacific Beach Dr, San Diego, CA, United States
We will be at Love Your Wetlands Day in San Diego. Drop by to learn about native bees!

California Native Plant Society Conference
2026-02-05 - 2026-02-07 | Riverside Convention Center, 3637 5th St, Riverside, CA, United States
We are tabling at the California Native Plant Society conference. Stop by Table 24 and say hi!
