Butterflies

Orange, black and white monarch butterfly seen landing on purple milkweed flowers.
Here's what we're doing to help protect monarch butterflies

You can almost hear the resounding cry from the East Bay to San Mateo County to Marin: Let's help the monarchs! From our own backyards to the undulating landscape around Mt. Tamalpais, Parks Conservancy staff, partners, and our parks community are marshaling resources to study and help monarch butterflies.

Small blue butterfly with two rows of white-rimmed black dots on the underside of its wings, drinking from a flower
Lupine and butterfly nets: Step-by-step on how we're helping save endangered Mission blue butterfly

A look at the painstaking work that goes into preserving habitat for the federally endangered Mission blue butterfly.

Small reddish-brown butterfly resting on a leaf
San Bruno Elfin Butterfly

The San Bruno elfin butterfly is a U.S. federally listed endangered subspecies that inhabits rocky outcrops and cliffs in coastal scrub on the San Francisco Peninsula.

Small blue butterfly with two rows of white-rimmed black dots on the underside of its wings, drinking from a flower
Mission Blue Butterfly

Remaining populations of Mission blue butterfly are found in only a few locations around the San Francisco Bay area.

Mission blue butterfly (Icaricia icariodes missionensis)
Five Lessons I Learned from the Mission Blue Butterfly

This winter the Golden Gate National Parks will be planting over a thousand lupines, the host plant of the endangered mission blue butterfly. As we prepare for this restoration work, a Park Stewardship manager reflects on the big lessons he’s learned from this little butterfly.

© 2025 Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. All rights reserved.