Racing against time: how california scientists are cataloging insects before they disappear forever

In the vast archives of the California Academy of Sciences, Christopher C. Grinter oversees millions of preserved insects—from tiny moths no bigger than a pinky nail to spectacular butterflies with wingspans that could cover your palm. As Senior Collection Manager of Entomology, Grinter is at the forefront of an urgent scientific mission: documenting every insect species in California before climate change, habitat loss, and other threats drive them to extinction.

This monumental effort, known as the California All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (CalATBI), represents the largest systematic survey of the state’s insect life in a generation. Grinter’s team has traversed tens of thousands of miles across California’s diverse landscapes, collecting hundreds of thousands of specimens. Their work is revealing just how much we don’t know about the tiny creatures that pollinate our plants, decompose organic matter, and form the foundation of countless food webs.

Grinter’s passion for insects began in childhood, watching butterflies in his suburban Chicago backyard. A transformative visit to the Field Museum’s insect collection—where he says he “had my mind blown”—set him on a path from curious kid to world-class scientist. Now, he focuses primarily on moths, which vastly outnumber butterflies but receive far less attention. “An urban backyard probably has at least a few species of microlepidoptera that still need a scientific name,” he explains, highlighting how much undiscovered biodiversity exists right under our noses.

The CalATBI project isn’t just about academic discovery—it’s a race against time to understand and protect California’s incredible insect diversity before it’s too late.