Excitement is building for the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night, set Saturday, July 18.
It's from 7 to 11 p.m. and free and family friendly. It's based at the Bohart Museum headquarters, Room 1124, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. This is part of the celebration of National Moth Week, themed "Exploring Nighttime Nature."
John "Moth Man" de Benedictus will be setting up a simple blacklighting display just outside the Academic Surge Building to show how to entice nocturnal insects, and entomologist Joel Hernandez will display a more elaborate blacklighting setup from 9:30 to 11:30 in the Shields Oak Grove, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
Moth specimens from throughout the world will be showcased in the Bohart Museum's Lepidoptera aisle. Questions such as "What's the difference between a moth and a butterfly?" and "What's the largest moth in the world?" will be answered.
At the open house, folks can use the microscopes, get acquainted with Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects from the live petting zoo, and create a headband adorned with moth antennae in the family arts and crafts activity. They will also see silk moths.
And when you walk through the Academic Surge Hallway to reach the Bohart Museum, you'll encounter a huge luna moth display on the wall--perfect for folks to take portraits: "I'm a Luna moth!"
Wings up!
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, is the home of a global collection of eight million specimens. It also includes a live petting zoo and an insect-themed gift shop. For more information, access the website or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
Cover image: A reddish-brown mint moth, a day-flying moth common in gardens.