- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That was a key question asked at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night, held both indoors and outdoors on the UC Davis campus on Saturday, July 20.
Doctoral student Iris Quayle of the laboratory of Professor Jason Bond, director of the Bohart (and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), staffed a station explaining the differences.
Some major points:
- Both butterflies and moths are members of the order Lepidoptera and both are pollinators.
- Both go through a complete metamorphosis, from egg to larva (caterpillar) to pupa to adult. Butterflies pupate in a chrysalis while a moth pupates in a cocoon.
- A butterfly's antennae have club-like tips whereas moths have feathery, thick, comb-like antennae.
- Butterflies are diurnal or active during the day, while moths are generally active at night. But some moths, including the white-lined sphinx moth, are both diurnal and nocturnal (active at night).
- Generally, a butterfly's wings are brightly colored and moths are dull in color, but not always. Some moths, such as the Ranchman's tiger moth, are beautifully colored.
Globally, scientists have described about 18,000 species of butterflies and 180,000 species of moths, "and hundreds of newly named species are added every year," according to Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart. "It's also believed that we may know of no more than 10-15 percent of the species actually out there, with the small 'micro-Lepidoptera' likely with over 90 percent of the species in the world still unknown. This emphasizes the importance of preserving natural environments so things don't go extinct before we can ever recognize their importance to the Earth and their relationships in their habitats."
The Bohart Museum's global collection of 8 million insects includes some 825,454 specimens of moths and butterflies, including 618,750 moths, ranging in size from the huge Atlas moths (10-inch wingspan) to the extremely tiny (4 mm wingspan) leafminer moths.
Founded in 1946, the Bohart Museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. The open houses are free and family friendly. The next open house is on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. The theme: "Museum ABC's: Arthropods, Bohart and Collecting." Check out the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu for more information.
![Iris Quayle of the laboratory of Jason Bond, director of the Bohart Museum, explains the differences between moths and butterflies. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Iris Quayle of the laboratory of Jason Bond, director of the Bohart Museum, explains the differences between moths and butterflies. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107972.jpg)
![UC Davis doctoral candidate Iris Quayle answering questions from the visitors at the Bohart Museum open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) UC Davis doctoral candidate Iris Quayle answering questions from the visitors at the Bohart Museum open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107973.jpg)
![Jeff Smith (left), curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum, and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas talk to open house attendees and show moth specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Jeff Smith (left), curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum, and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas talk to open house attendees and show moth specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107975.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Did you know that there are 73 species of dragonflies (Anisoptera) in California?
We've been waiting for an updated field guide book on our state's dragonflies, and now it's here.
Dragonfly experts Kathy Biggs and Sandra von Arb have just announced their newly published book, Dragonflies (Anisoptera) of California,published by Nature/Field Guides. It's a 200-page, spiral-bound book, rich with images, and featuring ALL of the 73 known species of dragonflies in California (many of these dragonflies also inhabit nearby states).
We remember Biggs and von Arb sharing their expertise at a dragonfly open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, on Sept. 20, 2015 with international dragonfly authority Rosser Garrison, author of Dragonfly Genera of the New World: an llustrated and Annotated Key to the Anisoptera (now a retired insect biosystematist, California Department of Food and Agriculture); and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas. UC Davis doctoral candidate Christofer Brothers also has shared his expertise on dragonflies at Bohart Museum open houses.
Biggs and von Arb relate they met through their shared passion for dragonflies. Biggs? An experienced dragonfly guide and author. Von Arb? A biologist and founder of the Biodiversity Education and Research Foundation, commonly known as BEAR or BEAR Foundation. (It is currently offline)
The authors point out that the book contains:
- More than 146 full-color photographs of both the males and females and their descriptions (photos also include nymph/exuvia for each genus)
- Habitat, distribution maps, flight periods, behaviors, similar species and oviposition techniques for each species
- Clear and easy-to-use format
Among the photographers contributing to the book are Pierre Deviche, Jim Johnson and Matthew Matthiessen. "Greg (Kareofelas) has a thumbnail showing a close-up of one of a snake tail faces showing the horns on the females," Biggs added.
You can order the book here. The link shows sample pages as well. It may be available soon from the Bohart Museum of Entomology gift shop, where Biggs also has dragonfly books.
Now, I'm waiting for that flameskimmer to snag a flying insect, just as its ancestors did. Dragonflies existed before the Age of Dinosaurs; dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (and that was 252 to 66 million years ago). Indeed, fossil records show that these dragonfly ancestors were the world's largest flying insects, some with wing spans measuring three feet.
![Kathy Biggs (left) and Sandra von Arb are co-authors of the newly published Kathy Biggs (left) and Sandra von Arb are co-authors of the newly published](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107936.jpg)
![Dragonfly experts participating in a 2015 Bohart Museum of Entomology open house included (front, from left) Andrew Rehn of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Kathy Biggs, author of dragonfly books, and Sandra von Arb, then a senior biologist at the Pacific Northwestern Biological Resources, McKinleyville, Calif. In back are Rosser Garrison (left), now retired from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas. Dragonfly experts participating in a 2015 Bohart Museum of Entomology open house included (front, from left) Andrew Rehn of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Kathy Biggs, author of dragonfly books, and Sandra von Arb, then a senior biologist at the Pacific Northwestern Biological Resources, McKinleyville, Calif. In back are Rosser Garrison (left), now retired from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas.](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107937.jpg)
![A flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107940.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So much to see and do, and so many moth experts will be on hand to answer your questions.
It's all in keeping with National Moth Week.
The event, free and family friendly, will take place inside and outside the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis, as well as in the hallway of Academic Surge,and outside.
Moth'ers Peter Coggan, a doctoral student in the laboratory of Santiago Ramirez, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology, and his father, Peter Coggan of northern Minnesota, and active in the Minnesota chapter of National Dark Skies, will staff a moth sensory booth.
Together they can address such topics as moth sensory biology, husbandry, trapping, and light pollution.
The younger Coggan, a member of the UC Davis Population Biology Graduate Group, was born and raised in Boulder, Colo., where he developed a love for biodiversity in the surrounding mountains. He is broadly interested in how sensory processing shapes memory formation and other cognitive traits. He is currently investigating "how hover flies decide which flowers to visit based on innate color preference and learned odors." He began conducting research in high school and has participated in projects from cancer diagnostics to waste water management. He received a bachelor of science in biology from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. As an undergraduate, he worked with Dr. Mark Willis and studied how moths perceive smell while moving through a complex environment. Coggan anticipates a career in academia and "to continue to raise awareness about invertebrates."
Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection, and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas will show moth specimens and answer questions. The Bohart Museum's global collection of 8 million insects includes some 825,454 specimens of moths and butterflies, incluing 618,750 moths, ranging in size from the huge Atlas moths (10-inch wingspan) to the extremely tiny (4 mm wingspan) leafminer moths.”
Moth'er Volkmar Heinrich, UC Davis associate professor of biomedical engineering, will be displaying his images of moths and answering questions.Silks of the world also will be displayed, announced Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.
In the hallway, visitors can view wing scales and antennae through microscopes at a table staffed by Iris Quayle, doctoral student in the lab of Professor Jason Bond, director of the Bohart Museum, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects, also is scheduled to include Polyphemus caterpillars, "if they haven't all pupated," Yang said. The caterpillars will turn into silk moths. Staffing the petting zoo are UC Davis undergraduate student Kaitai Liu and doctoral candidate Emma Jochim of the Bond lab.
The family craft activity will involve making caterpillar stress balls in a cocoon bag, donned with leaves on the outside.
A free public snack of hot chocolate and cookies will be offered, Yang said.
Outside on the grounds, Bohart research associate John "Moth Man" De Benedictus and his colleagues will set up a blacklighting display (a white sheet and a UV light to attract moths and other night-flying insects). De Benedictis has amassed a moth collection of some 600 species from the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve and 300 species from his backyard in Davis. He received a grant from the former Institute of Ecology to study moths at the Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve where he collected from 1989 until the last major fire in 2020.
“I began a similar inventory of the species in my backyard after I purchased my home in 1998," De Benedictis said. "It continues to this day, and a synoptic collection of the 300 or so species that I've collected in my yard is housed alongside the Cold Canyon collection in the Bohart Museum.” Graduate student Grace Horne of the lab of urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, Department of Entomology and Nematology, is analyzing the data from these studies as part of her doctoral research.
DeBenedictus retired in 2001 from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, where he worked as a staff research assistant from 1995 to 2001 in the laboratory of medical entomologist Tom Scott. De Benedictis, who holds a master's degree in entomology from UC Berkeley, studied with noted professor Jerry Powell (1933-2023), emeritus director of the Essig Museum of Entomology.
Worldwide, scientists have described about 18,000 species of butterflies and 180,000 species of moths, "and hundreds of newly named species are added every year," Smith said. "It's also believed that we may know of no more than 10-15 percent of the species actually out there, with the small 'micro-Lepidoptera' likely with over 90 percent of the species in the world still unknown. This emphasizes the importance of preserving natural environments so things don't go extinct before we can ever recognize their importance to the Earth and their relationships in their habitats."
![UC Davis doctoral student Peter Coggan (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) UC Davis doctoral student Peter Coggan (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107903.jpg)
![Peter Coggan of northern Minnesota is a moth'er and a member of the board of the Minnesota chapter of National Dark Skies. His son, Peter, also a moth'er, is a UC Davis doctoral student. Peter Coggan of northern Minnesota is a moth'er and a member of the board of the Minnesota chapter of National Dark Skies. His son, Peter, also a moth'er, is a UC Davis doctoral student.](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107904.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
For the beekeepers that's easy. They dislike the pests known as "wax moths" and their larvae.
The female wax moths hang around the hives at night and when the opportunity arises, slip in to lay their eggs. If the colony is weak, this pest can take over.
The honey bee bible, The Hive and the Honey Bee (Dadant Publication), says the wax moth female "produces less than 300 eggs during her life span of 3 to 30 days, but a few lay as many as 2000 eggs. Mated females fly to beehives one to three hours after dark, enter, and lay eggs until they leave shortly before daylight."
The Hive and the Honey Bee authors relate that "the presence of the wax moth larvae usually signals a major problem such as queenlessness, an infectious disease, poisoning and starvation."
In his book, Honey Bee Biology (2023 Princeton University), bee scientist Brian Johnson, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, touches on colony pests in addition to his indepth coverage of everything from molecular genetics, development, and physiology to neurobiology, behavior, and pollination biology.
Johnson writes in part: "The greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella) are old and well-known pests of honey bees. The female moth lays her eggs on the comb and the larvae consume the wax, pollen and honey. In nature, these pests are mainly a threat to weak colonies, as strong colonies can kill their larvae." He goes on to mention that beekeepers who inadequately store large amounts of wax combs may be subject to wax moth infestations. He recommends air tight storage and the use of mothballs.
The larvae are not always unwanted. They've been introduced as an alternative model to study microbial infections.
So, in keeping with National Moth Week, the Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting its annual Moth Night from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 at its headquarters in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455Crocker Lane, UC Davis. Inside, Jeff Smith, curator of the Bohart's Lepidoptera collection, and his colleagues will be displaying moth specimens and answering questions. Outside, Bohart research associate John "Moth Man" De Benedictus will set up a blacklighting display, complete with white sheet and a UV light to attract moths and other night-flying insects.
The open house is free and family friendly. Also free: hot chocolate and cookies, according to Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.
Founded in 1946, the Bohart Museum is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It also features a petting zoo (including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas) and a gift shop stocked with insect-themed t-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, jewelry and more. The museum is directed by Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
![Close-up of the larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), pests of honey bee colonies. Also shown is another bee colony pest, a hive beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Close-up of the larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), pests of honey bee colonies. Also shown is another bee colony pest, a hive beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107877.jpg)
![This is the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) from the Bohart Museum of Entomology Lepidoptera collection. (Photo by Jeff Smith) This is the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) from the Bohart Museum of Entomology Lepidoptera collection. (Photo by Jeff Smith)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107883.jpg)
![This is the lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, from the Bohart Museum of Entomology Lepidoptera collection. (Photo by Jeff Smith) This is the lesser wax moth, Achroia grisella, from the Bohart Museum of Entomology Lepidoptera collection. (Photo by Jeff Smith)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107884.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Let's go mothing!
What's mothing? The National Moth Week website describes mothing as "a hobby for nature enthusiasts who use light or bait to attract moths to a location for observation and data collection."
So, in keeping with National Moth Week, the Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting its annual Moth Night from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 at its headquarters in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis. Outside, Bohart research associate John "Moth Man" De Benedictus will set up a blacklighting display, complete with white sheet and a UV light to attract moths and other night-flying insects.
Inside, Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart, and his colleagues will displays moth specimens and answer questions.
The event is free and family friendly. Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator, says that traditionally, "we serve hot chocolate an cookies."
Have you taken any images of moths lately? In the moth world, we mostly photograph the diurnal or day-flying moths.
Take the plume moth. In his book, California Insects, UC Berkeley entomologist Jerry Powell (1933-2023) explains why they're called plume moths..."because the forewings are deeply notched and the hindwings are divided into three linear parts, each with long scale fringes. When perched, the insects roll the forewings around the folded hindwing plumes, resulting in peculiar sticklike or craneflylike appearance, unlike any other moth." Most are nocturnal and are attracted to lights, Powell adds.
Another example of a moth that flies during the day an night is the white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata).
You'll see those and more at the Bohart Museum's Moth Night.
The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, houses a global collection of 8 million insect specimens, plus a petting zoo (think Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop. Director is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
![This colorful moth is Arctia virginalis, Ranchman's tiger moth, a diurnal or day-flying moth commonly known as the Ranchman's tiger moth. In its larval stage, it's a wooly bear caterpillar, commonly found at the Bodega Marine Reserve and on the trails of Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This colorful moth is Arctia virginalis, Ranchman's tiger moth, a diurnal or day-flying moth commonly known as the Ranchman's tiger moth. In its larval stage, it's a wooly bear caterpillar, commonly found at the Bodega Marine Reserve and on the trails of Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107862.jpg)
![This is California Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta californicalis), commonly known as This is California Pyrausta Moth (Pyrausta californicalis), commonly known as](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107863.jpg)
![This is a pterophorid plume moth (family Pterophoridae). The This is a pterophorid plume moth (family Pterophoridae). The](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107864.jpg)
![This is a white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata), which flies during the day and night. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This is a white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata), which flies during the day and night. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/107865.jpg)