Watson Owens, 2, carefully picks up a maggot for his Maggot Art project, while his sister, Winter Owens, 5, guides a crawling maggot. The family drove in from Carmichael to attend the UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Youngsters--and the young at heart--headed over to Briggs Hall during the 109th annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day to create art masterpieces--masterpieces involving maggots.

Using forceps, the artists dipped a maggot in water-based,  non-toxic paint and let it crawl around a piece of white paper. Or they guided it. Different color? Different maggot dipped in a different paint.

What a conversation piece! And perfect for framing or posting on a refrigerator door.

Maggot Art has been a traditional part of the UC Davis Picnic Day since the early 2000s.

Rebecca O'Flaherty, a former graduate student of UC Davis forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey's, coined the educational teaching curriculum,  "Maggot Art," back in 2001 when she was studying at the University of Hawaii. She was rearing blowflies for her forensic research and wanted an activity to draw the interest of elementary school students.  She also wanted to generate interest and respect for forensic entomology. 

Her Maggot Art quickly drew national interest. The CSI television show featured one of her works, “Ancient Offering,”  which hung on the permanent set in Gil Grissom's office.O'Flaherty also exhibited her work at art shows, including a two-month exhibition at the Capital Athletic Club, Sacramento, in 2007.

And the maggots at the 2023 UC Davis Picnic Day? "The maggots are Calliphora vacinia, the blue bottle fly," Kimsey said. "Realize that there are likely close to 100 species that can be called blue bottle flies. This particular one is very large as an adult and has huge larvae that are perfect for Maggot Art."

"Although at certain times of the year, it is active in California, particularly around cities, it is not as common as others and I do not have a colony," Kimsey added. "There has been a lot of very famous research in entomology done on this species, particularly at University of Massachusetts and Harvard under Vincent Dethier, whose research has provided profound insights into human biology."

The Department of Entomology and Nematology ordered the maggots from Knutson's Sporting Goods, an Internet purveyor based in Brooklyn, Mich., which sells them as live fish bait and as research tools. 

Or Maggot Art....

What's a picnic without bugs?

UC Davis entomologists--students, faculty, staff and emeriti--will set up educational and entertaining displays at the 109th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, set Saturday, April 15.  The "bug" exhibits will be at two sites:

• Briggs Hall, home of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, Kleiber Hall Drive, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
• Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Theme of the Bohart Museum will be "Bugs, Boom, Bang!" The insect museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, a live "petting zoo" (including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop.

Forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey, and doctoral student Grace Horne of the lab of urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke are coordinating the department's Picnic Day activities. Bohart Museum Picnic Day coordinators are UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart, and Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.

Cockroach races are among the popular activities at Briggs Hall. The roaches will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on a specially made race track in front of the building. These are American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, from a colony kept by the late UC Davis entomology emeritus professor, Charles Judson (1926-2015). Bob Kimsey, who doubles as the advisor of the UC Davis Entomology Club, maintains the roach colony and is assuring everyone that the athletes"are ready to race." 

The roach races involve a roach track, an air pump (to get the roaches moving), volunteers, and spectators. Sometimes a roach jumps from the track and lands on scurrying feet.  

The line-up of entomological events at Briggs Hall also includes:

Bug Doctor
Briggs Hall Entryway
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Meet an entomologist and talk about insects! Bring an insect from your garden to identify.  

Maggot Art
Briggs Hall Courtyard
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Create maggot art by dipping a live maggot into water-based, non-toxic paint. Voila! Art suitable or framing (or at least a spot on the refrigerator door

Dr. Death
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will display and discuss his research

Entomology at UC Davis
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Displays of insects, including bees, ants and more
Graduate students, faculty and emeriti will staff the tables

Scavenger Hunt
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be several drawers of insects that people can look through to see if they can spot the insects on the check list

Fly-Tying
Briggs Hall courtyard
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fly Fishers of Davis will show you how to tie a fly.

Insect-Themed T-shirt Sales
Briggs hall entryway
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Members of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) will be selling popular insect-themed t-shirts, including "The Beetles" 

Mosquito Control
Briggs Hall entrance
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will be providing information on mosquitoes and how to protect yourself

Other Creepy Crawlies
122 Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
UC Davis doctoral candidate Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab and others will display live arachnids, myriapods, tarantulas, scorpions, millipedes and more 

UC  Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) 
Briggs Hall Courtyard
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Learn about pests and how to control them from UC IPM scientists. The staff will be giving away lady beetles, aka ladybugs.

The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, headed by director Amina Harris and affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host a honey tasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the courtyard of Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, 392 Old Davis Road. "Come taste and learn about UC Davis honey and honey varietals from North America," she said. "Honey available for purchase."

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is chaired by nematologist and professor Steve Nadler. Molecular geneticist-physiologist and professor Joanna Chiu serves as the vice chair.  

Would you like to be an egg, a larva, a pupa or a fly?

That was the question that awaited entomology enthusiasts who descended on Briggs Hall during the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 23.

It was a cardboard cutout...well, actually a wood cutout--that drew them to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology display.

Jordan King, a UC Davis student majoring in mechanical engineering, and Noel Bresson, an art and history major, stepped right up. Jordan became a larva, and Noel, a fly.

Everyone around smiled. 

It's good to be a fly and a larva. 

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's exhibits at Briggs Hall during the annual UC Davis Picnic Day wouldn't be complete without the Fly Fishers of Davis.

To the delight of wide-eyed youngsters, the anglers demonstrate the intricate art of fly tying, and then gift the finished product to them.

Veteran fly fisherman Paul Berliner, participating in the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, held Saturday, April 23, asked Ella Eich, 6, of Davis if she'd like to have a fly tied for her. 

She wasn't sure at first.

"I didn't think she was going to do it until she saw the color pink," he related. "That did it!"

Ella watched him create it, and beamed when he handed it to her. It's now her treasure.

The Fly Fishers of Davis (FFD) is comprised of some 100 members and it's based in Davis. "Our charter is to promote the art of fly-fishing and to protect our natural resources and fisheries through community education and conservation," according to the website.  FFD is an affiliate of the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF), an international non-profit organization and its Northern California Council (NCCFFF).  Our meetings and membership are open to the public, and we provide equal opportunity membership without discrimination on sex, race, origin, age or religious orientation."

Last year, due to the cancellation of the UC Davis Picnic Day, many organizations went virtual with presentations. The Fly Fishers created a video (click here), narrated by Berliner that won a second-place award in the Blue and Gold category, spotlighting health, recreation and athletics.)

The Fly Fisher meetings,  open to the public, are held the last Tuesday of each month, with a social at 7 and the general meeting at 7:30. (See website for details).  All members receive the club's monthly newsletter, “The Fisherman's Line.”  See the Newsletters for the current edition and back editions. Yearly dues for adults and families are $30 per year.  Yearly dues for students are $15 per year.

Outings take them to such venues as Pyramid Lake, Lake Berryessa, McCloud River, Lake Davis and Trinity River and more.

And then there's the annual UC Davis Picnic Day where the anglers demonstrate the art of fly tying and answer a myriad of questions.

Let's go fishing!