Coco McFluffin, gone but not forgotten.
The much-loved Chaco golden-knee tarantula at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.
She was part of the Bohart Museum's live petting zoo for many years, at least since 2016. The Bohart Museum is better known as the 7th largest insect museum in North America (eight million insect specimens), but Coco was a fan favorite.
She "greeted" folks at the annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, the campuswide UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, the Take-Your-Daughters-and-Sons-to-Work Day, and scores of Bohart Museum open houses. She graced the pages of The Reporter, Vacaville, in 2017. UC Davis Chancellor Gary May met her on a tour of the Bohart Museum in 2018.
I asked Artificial Intelligence about CoCo McFluffin and was told she is "famous":
"Coco McFluffin is a famous resident Chaco golden knee tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes) at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, known for being a docile "petting zoo" spider native to Paraguay and Argentina. She is frequently featured in educational events to promote understanding of arachnids.
- Species: Chaco golden knee tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes).
- Role: Member of the live petting zoo at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.
- Temperament: Described as a crowd favorite and very calm, often displayed to visitors and school groups.
- Context: She is part of a collection of spiders, including black widows and other tarantulas, used for public education."
CoCo McFluffin seemed to like being held, but not always. As UC Davis Distinguished Professor (now emerita) Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum for 34 years until her retirement in February of 2024, said: "Some of the tarantulas get grumpy like people do." CoCo was part of the crowd at Kimsey's surprise birthday party in 2023. (See Bug Squad blog)
Founded in 1946. The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 by UC Davis entomology professor Richard M. Bohart, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. Director is Jason Bond, the Evett and Marion Schlinger Chair of Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Cover image: CoCo McFluffin in her quarters at the Bohart Museum of Entomology in 2019. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)