The annual UC Davis Bio Boot Camps not only connect youths with nature, but with each other. 

Meet Cole Cramer,  and Connor Hsu, both 15, and both students at La Canada High School, La Cañada Flintridge, Calif. 

They met when they were pre-teens at a UC Davis Bio Boot Camp, became fast friends, and have now achieved a level that would make any entomologist proud—from launching an entomology club at their high school to organizing community outreach programs to staffing a booth at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHMLA) Bug Fair, to attending two international conferences.  

The Bohart Museum of Entomology, the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and the Campus Recreation Youth Programs sponsor two summer Bio Boot Camps, which draw applicants from throughout California, as well as nationally and globally. The younger-age camp, inaugurated in 2011, is for middle school students (grades 7, 8, and 9), and the older-age camp, launched in 2013, is for high school students (grades 10, 11 and 12). 

“Dates and applications will be released in mid-January,” said Bio Boot Camp coordinator Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum.  

A goal of the Bio Boot Camps “is to bring together pre-teens and teens interested in nature,” Tabatha said. “We give them a taste of how their passion can be nurtured and carried into college. We want them to stay inspired by nature as they go through middle school and high school. Meeting other people your age who like looking for insects or watching birds is a great way to do this.” 

Both Cole and Connor aim to become entomologists.

Cole Cramer: “I'm working toward becoming a professional entomologist, ideally focusing on research or fieldwork—anything that lets me spend time in the field and contribute to science,” Cole said. “I'm fascinated by how insects adapt to their environments and am especially drawn to studying Buprestidae (jewel beetle family) and Trechinae (ground beetle family) for their unique characteristics. Bio Boot Camp was an unforgettable experience that gave me a deeper appreciation for the behind-the-scenes work in entomology. I loved learning specific pinning techniques and proper labeling for scientific research. The overnight stays were a highlight—Sagehen Creek Field Station was my favorite, and hearing advice from professionals was invaluable."

“Collecting aquatic insects at Putah Creek was another standout moment," Cole said. "Visiting the Bohart was equally impressive—their massive specimen collection is one of the largest I've ever seen! Most importantly, Bio Boot Camp gave me the chance to connect with people who share my passion and ‘get it.' As a bonus, I even met one of my best friends (Connor) there.”

Connor Hsu. "I aim to pursue a career as an entomologist, dedicated to advancing the understanding of insect biology and to contributing to solutions for ecological challenges," Connor said. "Bio Boot Camp was one of the best experiences of my life, feeding my passion for nature and specifically the study of insects. I particularly enjoyed learning how to pin different species of insects and being able to refine my insect preservation and insect labeling skills. Further, touring the entire entomological specimen collection at the Bohart was an amazing opportunity, as we could explore and learn about the diversity of insects.” 

Cole's mother, Jessica Cramer, related the story of how they met and some of their accomplishments.

“Cole and Connor were lucky enough to meet on the first day of Bio Boot Camp. In fact, we (both sets of parents)  were standing in line next to each other to sign our boys in on that first day. We picked up a conversation and soon found out that we both lived in Southern California. What a small world. As luck would have it, when we picked the boys up later that day, Cole and Connor had already become fast friends, and that friendship continues to this day. Since then, they have both attended Bio Boot Camp twice (summers of 2022 and 2023), started a youth chapter of the Lorquin Entomological Society called ‘Lorquin Scholars' and founded an Entomology Club at their high school.”  (See their Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/lorquinsocietyscholars/)

Jessica continued: “When Cole and Connor met, they realized that they were both already members of the main Lorquin Entomological Society--unbeknownst to both of them, though! When they joined on their own, it was a time when the society was only holding Zoom meetings monthly--so not as much interaction to meet new members.  In-person meetings were reinstated right around the time they got back from Bio Boot Camp, and then they started going to meetings together.”  

“They love the Lorquin meetings, and still attend the monthly meetings (usually held at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles)  but it was easy to see that Lorquin lacked a ‘youth' component. The society is full of academics, hobbyists, and retired entomologists, but Cole and Connor found themselves being the ONLY youth there. They decided they wanted to change that. They took their idea to the president and with his overwhelming approval, they created a youth chapter, and the Lorquin Scholars was born in May 2023. 

Go for It! Blaine Hebert, then the Lorquin president, encouraged them. "Your idea is just the sort of thing that got me started," he told them. "My advice for you is to go for it. It will become whatever you create. You will have some--or many--disappointments, you will be frustrated, but it will be great! This is how it starts! This is how careers begin! This is how life works!" 

Cole and Conner participated in the NHMLA Bug Fair. They created a logo for a flyer, and handed out the flyers at the Lorquin Entomological Society booth.  The rest, they say is history. “The booth at the Bug Fair that year was off the charts--tons and tons of kids clamoring to the booth about the Lorquin Scholars, how could they join and participate, when was the next event, families asking could they get on the email list,” Jessica related. “The response was overwhelming and awesome! It was clear they were on to something! Since then, they have created and led numerous local youth outings, like nature hikes and insect hunts, and have been asked to participate in countless nature-centered, community outreach events! The youth outings tend to be for kids 4-12 years old, and focus on identifying species, teaching the kids how to collect specimens--sweep nets, beat sheets, vials, etc.--and having fun! They usually have anywhere from 15-20 kids attend, plus parents. Their last outing, there were so many kids who attended that they had to split the group into two, and Cole and Connor each took a group on an insect walk.” 

The community outreach events  draw families and people of all ages, and focus on insects specimens and live insects. Cole displays his pinned specimen collection and various live insects. He also runs a praying business, https://www.mantisuniverse.com/ “so he always brings a selection of really cool looking mantids for people to interact with,” said Jessica, adding that “I have ghost mantis chilling out on my laptop now."

Another highlight: Last October Cole and Connor were asked to emcee the Lorquin Entomological Society's annual "Lorquin Show and Tell"  at which members discuss their summer collecting trips. Cole and Connor each presented a talk. Then together they delivered a slide show showcasing the Lorquin Scholars' activities over the past year. That prompted senior member Bedros Orchanian to comment: "I used to worry about the future of entomology. But after hearing Cole and Connor talk, I don't worry about this at all." 

Then came another highlight. The boys attended the 2024 Entomological Collections Network (ECN) conference, held Nov. 9-10 in Phoenix, and also the 2024 Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting, held Nov 10–13 in Phoenix.  

It all came about as the result of a summer tour of the UC Riverside Department of Entomology.   The Cramer and Hsu families learned of the conferences from UCR entomology professor John Heraty. “That piqued our interest," Jessica said, "and when we saw that the ECN dates would work for us, I decided to reach out to the president of ECN, Oliver Keller. I told him I had a pair of high school entomologists who would love to attend--neither having ever attended professional entomological conference before!”

“Oliver was awesome!" Jessica said. "He was SO excited that I had contacted him.” The ECN board invited Cole and Connor to attend the conference. “Oliver even made a surprise announcement on stage at the very start of the conference, saying ‘We have some special guests here, doesn't happen very often, but we have a couple of high school students here who started the youth chapter of the Lorquin Society in Los Angeles, and if any of you see them, please introduce yourselves and talk entomology with them!' 

“The boys stood up and waved to the 150-plus people! It was awesome!” Jessica recalled.  (See video)

Next step? The boys plan to apply to attend the 2025 Bio Boot Camp, if there are no scheduling conflicts. They did not apply to the 2024 Bio Boot Camp, held Aug. 11-17, due to a school conflict. "They were already back in school when camp was scheduled, so they weren't able to apply."  

All applicants must write a mini-essay. "The application is camper-driven," Tabatha said. (See more at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/summer-camps.)

Following their high school graduation, the boys are interested in attending UC Davis.  Cole is "already looking into" the UC Davis Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology,  a program founded and directed by three UC Davis entomology professors to provide undergraduates with a closely mentored research experience in biology. 

 “Cole and Connor are the perfect example of what I hope this camp achieves,” Tabatha said. “They came to the camp independently, but left as best friends. I am so happy that Bio Boot Camps provided the space and situation for them to connect.”