Bug Squad Blog
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the Bohart Museum of Entomology erected its pop-up tent on the Briggs Hall lawn during the recent campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, insects popped up.
They included walking sticks (stick insects) and a few specimens from the Bohart Museum's global collection of eight million insects.
Also "popping up"--a red lobster. That was UC Davis alumnus--entomologist and artist--Allen Chew in costume, stopping by to see her entomological friends.
Children and adults delighted in holding the stick insects, taking selfies, and learning more about insects and arachnids. Among the presenters at the live petting zoo: Brennen Dyer, collection manager, with Steve Heydon, retired collection manager. And Bohart associate Christofer Brothers, a doctoral student who researches dragonflies, with Dylan Winkler of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife who helps coordinate the California Bumble Bee Atlas.
In anticipation of the Bohart Musem's Moth Night, set for Saturday, July 12, visitors learned about the life cycle o the Ceanothus silk moth. Its host plant is the wild lilac. Moth Night will take place Saturday, July 12 from 7 to 11 at the Bohart Museum and on the grounds (visitors can view insects attracted to the blacklighting set-up).
Meanwhile, the Bohart is gearing up for its open house, themed "Insect Life Stages" from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 18. All open houses are free and family friendly and open to the public.
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 by UC Davis entomology professor Richard Bohart (1913-2007), is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It is directed by Professor Jason Bond, the Evett and Marion Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
In addition to the eight million insect specimens and the live petting zoo, the Bohart Museum features an insect-themed gift shop. Public walk-in hours are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free. Fee-based hourly parking is available in Lot 47. For more informaiton contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or call (530)-752-0493.
