You've seen dragonflies perched in meadows but have you ever witnessed their hunting behavior?
You won't want to miss the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, May 16 when UC Davis doctoral candidate and dragonfly expert Christofer Brothers shares his rhyming prose on dragonflies.
He'll be presenting a 15-minute talk at 3:30 on "Midair Basket Weaving: A Doggerel of Dragonflies and Damselflies," representing his preliminary work from his dissertation on dragonfly and damselfly hunting behavior.
"Doggerel," he says, is "a term for funny, silly poetry without a universally set structure --though it can also sometimes refer to bad poetry, and some of my rhymes are certainly questionable!"
Here's a sample of rhyme from his talk:
"With spiky feet they’re no devils in Prada
They’re the insect order known as Odonata!
The dragons and their damsel kin
Are the only insect groups within
"But there’s a difference between the two
I can see it, and so can you!
Is how Zygoptera gets its name
Unequal wings and a bit less sleek
Anisoptera is the dragons’ name in Greek"
Brothers, a member of the UC Davis Animal Behavior Group, studies with Professor Stacey Coombs of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences.
The Bohart Museum open house, free and family friendly, takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, and in the hallway. Parking is also free.
The theme is "Buzz Words: Insects in Literature," the inspiration of UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) members Grace Horne, Mia Lippey and Marielle Hansen Friedman.
Talks will be given by Brothers, Krystle Hickman and Felicity Muth.
- Krystle Hickman, a noted bee conservationist photographer and author of the book, The ABCs of California Native Bees, will be tabling throughout the event. At 1:30 p.m., she will give a 15-minute talk, followed by a question-and-answer period.
- Felicity Muth, who studies the cognitive ecology of wild-foraging and lab-based bumble bees, and authored the children's book, "Am I Even a Bee?", will give a 15-minute talk at 2:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer period.
Hickman is a National Geographic Explorer, TEDx speaker, community scientist, native bee educator and artist. She also has published a desk of flash cards featuring 42 of the most commonly seen bee species in western United States. Many of her macro images of bees are currently on display in the Academic Surge hallway. Hickman has presented at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference and lectured a numerous colleges, including Harvard and UCLA.
Muth is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences. Her book, "Am I Even a Bee?" is described as "the story of Osmia, a solitary bee, decidedly green and unquestionably un-fuzzy. Osmia has always believed she is a bee, (her mom told her so), but recent run-ins with people, and even other insects, leave her wondering, “Am I even a bee?”
Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum;s education and outreach coordinator, and intern Jo Ridgeway will be staffing displays of fiction books that focus on insects. Macro photographer Larry Snyder of Davis loaned many of the books.
"We will also have the Woodland and Dixon librarians on hand as well," Yang said. "There will be an Eric Carle-inspired craft, and a book exchange. Bring a book to exchange."
Entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection, and fellow Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas will show specimens from the museum's worldwide butterfly collection and answer questions.
Visitors are also invited to hold the Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects from the live petting zoo.
The Coordinators
Horne and Friedman are doctoral candidates in the lab of urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Lippey, who received her doctorate in entomology in April 2026, studied in the labs of Meineke and UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Jay Rosenheim.
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and more) and an insect-themed gift shop.
Director of the Bohart Museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
For more information on the Bohart Museum, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/ or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.