"Spiders are everywhere," Professor Jason Bond told the crowd at his April 2019 town-hall presentation at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on arachnids.

 “You're never too far away from a spider; a spider is always watching you," said Bond, who is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. "They are always there. There are lots of them on the planet. They're absolutely everywhere."

Yes, spiders are everywhere and there's even a spider-themed pencil case to be available soon in the Bohart Museum's online gift shop. Dozens of insect- and spider-themed gifts are already available, proceeds of which benefit the scientific and educational activities of the Bohart Museum.

The Bohart, home of a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens, houses the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity of the state's deserts, mountains, coast, and the Great Central Valley. It maintains one of the world's largest collections of tardigrades. (See Bug Squad blog.) 

It also provides a live "petting zoo," comprised of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas (in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus), but you can't see them now because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

This white Bohart Museum face mask will be available soon in the online gift shop.

But you can see the scores of items available for purchase by visiting the Bohart's online gift shop. The newest items, coming soon, include spider-themed pencil cases, and adult face masks with the Bohart logo and UC Davis logo, says museum scientist Fran Keller, professor at Folsom Lake College and a UC Davis alumnus (doctorate in entomology). She has designed many a poster and t-shirt for the Bohart when she studied with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart and UC Davis professor of entomology. She continues to do so.

The Bohart masks both feature the California state insect, the dogface butterfly. "There is a white one with the stylized, yellow dogface logo and then a dark blue with a logo in golden yellow (UC Davis colors)," Professor Keller said. The pencil cases also will be arriving soon, she added.

Said Professor Kimsey: “Your support enables us to fulfill our mission of documenting and supporting research in biodiversity, educating and inspiring others about insects, and providing state-of-the-art information to the community."

The Bohart officials have compiled gift ideas for all ages:

Gift ideas for kids (ages 2+):

• Bohart t-shirts starting at size 2T
• Stuffed animals (the arthropod kind)
• Tardigrade backpack clip toy
• Toys from Insect Lore
• Books
• Stickers
• Insect net
• Edible insect snacks and candy

Gift ideas for tweens/teens:

• Hoodie with the California flag re-envisioned with a "water bear" (Tardigrade)
• Bohart T-shirts
• Beetle wing earrings
• Temporary tattoos
• Bohart sticker for water bottle/lap top/bike
• Collecting equipment
• Information on Bio Boot Camps, our summer camps for middle and high schoolers

Gift ideas for teachers:

• Mug with CA state insect
• Clever, instructional sticker for in-class spider removal
• Insect Lore models of life cycles
• Posters of California insects (dragonflies, State insects, Central Valley butterflies)
• Bohart book : The Story of the Dogface Butterfly (includes life cycle info and  a  civic-minded  4th grade class!)
• A one-hour,  in-class insect presentation or an educational material loan (contact tabyang@ucdavis.edu to inquire about this- some restrictions may apply)

 Gift ideas for adults:

• Membership
• Hand-turned, lathed pens
• Jewelry
• Books (used and new)
• Note cards
• A net to catch insects
• Clever, instructional sticker for in-home spider removal

Gift ideas for college students:

• Hoodie with the California flag re-envisioned with a "water bear" (Tardigrade)
• Bohart sticker for water bottle/lap top/bike
• Insect collecting equipment
• Jewelry (everything from $1  to $36)

Folks can also donate to the effort of raising funds to purchase a large tardigarde (waterbear) sculpture in front of the museum. "This sculpture will advance the museum's educational role and will increase the museum's visibility," Kimsey said. See https://uk.gofundme.com/f/waterbear-sculpture.

For more information, email the Bohart Museum at bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or access the website at http://bohart.ucdavis.edu.