Bring your community together, head outdoors and see what tiny creatures are hiding in your local area. A community Bug Hunt can be as simple as meeting at a local park for an hour with your phones and a sense of curiosity.
Here are a few tips to make your event a success:
- Spread the word: Use our ready-made Bug Hunt posters, flyers and social media materials to promote your event. Ask your local Landcare group, school, library, gardening club, community garden, council, bushcare group or other local organisations to share it with their networks. The more people looking, the more bugs you’re likely to find – and the bigger our snapshot of Australia’s bug life will be.
- Choose a bug-friendly location: Bushland, leafy parks, gardens and areas near waterways are great places to start. You can also use iNaturalist’s Explore map to see where people have been making observations in your local area.
- Bring along some bug knowledge: Invite local naturalists, bug enthusiasts or people familiar with iNaturalist to help participants spot and identify their finds. You can also check whether there are any iNaturalist Ambassadors in your area who may be interested in joining you.
- Plan for a safe day out: Complete a risk assessment before your event and think about the conditions, terrain and any other hazards participants might encounter.
- Get everyone set up before the day: Ask participants to download the iNaturalist app and join the Bugs In My Backyard Week 2026 iNaturalist project before they arrive. Joining the project also puts them in the running for some great prizes.
- Slow down and look closely: Bugs can be almost anywhere. Check tree trunks and under leaves, peer closely at flowers and look around benches, shelters and other structures. If you’re hunting after dark, light sources can be great places to look. Remember to respect the bugs you find – look, photograph and leave them be.
- Snap and upload your discoveries: Take clear photos and upload your observations to iNaturalist. Encourage participants to identify each bug only as far as they feel confident. iNaturalist’s suggestions can help, but there’s no need to guess a species – if you only know it’s a beetle, identifying it as a beetle is a great place to start. Post your favourite discoveries on social media using #BugHuntAu, #BugsInMyBackyardWeek and #CitizenScience and encourage others to join the hunt