UC Davis doctoral candidate Alexia “Lexie” Martin of the laboratory of Rachel Vannette, associate professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will be displaying bee life stages at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Sunday, May 18.

The event, free and family friendly, will take place from 1 to 4 p.m in Room 1122 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. The theme: "Insects: Life Stages."

"I’ll be displaying different bee life stages," Martin said. "Just like butterflies, bees go through a complete metamorphosis! Visitors will be able observe the different stages of bee development in live and preserved bees. Through a microscope, they will be able to watch live blue orchard bee larvae eating pollen and spinning their cocoons. They will also be able to observe the full life cycle of preserved bumble bees. Finally, I’ll have some bee nesting materials, so people can see the types of nests that bees can inhabit."

Martin, who anticipates receiving her doctorate in 2026, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and serves as president of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association. 

Her  research interests include bees, mutualism, bee-microbe interactions, bee diversity, plant-pollinator interactions, conservation and bee health. She is particularly interested in the blue orchard bee,  Osmia lignaria,  prized for its efficiency in pollinating fruit trees. Martin focuses her experiments on how pathogens and other bacteria and fungi influence bee health in the blue orchard bee. She works with stakeholders, including commerical growers, within the orchard bee community.

Martin received two degrees in 2021 from the University of Texas, Austin: a bachelor's in biology, with a concentration in ecology, evolution and behavior, and a bachelor's in chemistry. 

Among others tabling at the open house will be UC Davis doctoral student Christofer Brothers, who studies dragonflies in the Stacey Combes lab, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences.  Luz Maria Robles, public information officer, Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District.  Mosquito and Vector Control District, will discuss and display mosquitoes. See https://www.fightthebite.net/

Entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection (butterflies and moths), and Bohart associate and naturalist Greg Kareofelas will be showing "the Lep aisles" and discussing the specimens and answering questions.

Greg Kareofelas will set up an automatic advance and loop that will feature the life cycle of six butterflies--California Dogface, Monarch, Gulf Fritillary, California Spring White and California Sister--plus a Polyphemus moth. Kareofelas and Kathy Keatley Garvey are also providing images of "insect wedding photography."

Live caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies and silk moths, plus larvae of lady beetles (aka ladybugs) will be showcased. Also expected: newly eclosed adult polyphemus moths.

The family arts-and-crafts activity will be maggot art, announced Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. Participants will dip a maggot into non-toxic, water-based paint and let it crawl around--or guide it--on a piece of paper. It's a conversation piece, and suitable for framing or refrigerator display art.

The UC Davis Entomology Club will be raising funds with carnivorous plants. This is not a sale, but donors to the club that day can obtain a plant, Yang said.

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 by UC Davis professor Richard Bohart (1913-2007), houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It also incluedes a live petting zoo (including walking sticks and Madagascar hissing cockroaches) and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with t-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, pens, jewelry, "bug candy" and collecting equipment.

Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, directs the museum. He is the associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.