- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Vacaville Museum Guild's annual children's party--for Vacaville children ages 3 to 9--promises to be a honey of a party.
Themed "Fun on the Farm," it's an entertaining and educational event set for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 8 in the museum courtyard, 213 Buck Ave.,Vacaville.
Coordinators Pamela King and Diana McLaughlin said the children's party will include a walk-around Queen Bee handing out honey sticks, and a real "Queen Bee"--Ettamarie Peterson of Petaluma, known as the Queen Bee of Sonoma, who will display a bee observation hive. Another Queen Bee, Amina Harris, has donated honey sticks.
The event also will include animals from the Vaca Valley Grange (including goats, chickens, rabbits and a donkey), a costumed Mother Goose reading children's stories, face-painting by the Vacaville Rainbow Girls, and a ring toss with a hobby horse named Trigger (the work of Perry Shull and Georganne Gebers). The youngsters will create sand art jars, craft paper crowns, plant seeds in a take-home container, and pose for photos behind a UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology California dogface butterfly cut-out banner. The School of Rock will entertain. Vacaville police officers, Solano County Sheriff deputies, and the California Highway Patrol will "meet and greet" and offer replica badges and other memorabilia.
The menu, free with the $3 admission, includes hot dogs, popcorn, chips, cookies and water. Tickets can be purchased only at the museum on Thursdays through Saturdays between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Capsule information:
Ettamarie Peterson. She's a retired teacher, a longtime beekeeper, a 4-H beekeeping leader and a great-grandmother who loves to talk about bees and show her bee observation hive at schools and special events. She'll point out the queen bee, worker bees and drones and discuss their roles. “I started beekeeping before I retired in 1998 from 37 years of teaching,” Peterson says. She has served as president and treasurer of the Sonoma County Beekeepers' Association (SCBA) and edits the SCBA newsletter, The Monthly Extractor. She collects swarms for her Liberty 4-H Club beekeepers. "I got involved in 4-H when my son wanted his daughters to learn how to keep bees. They are both parents now so I am hoping to teach the three great-grandsons, too!"
Peterson is also a longtime friend and supporter of UC Davis. She delivered a tribute to the late Eric Mussen (1946-2022), a 38-year California Cooperative Extension apiculturist and member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty.
Queen Bee Costume. The queen bee costume is from the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), founded and directed by apiculturist/bee scientist Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of UC Cooperative Extension, and a member of the faculty of the Department of Entomology and Nematology. CAMBP is "a continuous train-the-trainer effort," the website explains. "The CAMBP's vision is to certify Honey Bee Ambassador, Apprentice, Journey, and Master level beekeepers so they can effectively communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators within their communities, serve as mentors for other beekeepers, and become the informational conduit between the beekeeping communities throughout the state and UCCE (UC Cooperative Extension) staff." Program managers are Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad.
Honey Sticks. The wildflower honey sticks were donated by Amina Harris, founding director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center who retired last year to return to her family business, Z Food Specialty and The HIVE, 1221 Harter Ave, Woodland. The Hive is known as the largest honey and mead tasting room in California and is newly featured in Travel and Leisure. A community gathering place, The Hive "aims to educate and engage visitors in varietal honeys, mead, honey bees, and pollinators." A honey-inspired menu features local and seasonal farm-to-fork foods. A pollinator garden and musical presentations are also draws. Amina's husband, Ishai Zeldner (he passed in 2018 at age 71), founded the business. Amina serves as the Queen Bee; son, Josh Zeldner is the nectar director, and daughter, Shoshana Zeldner, is the director of brand strategy. See more about the family and its business here.
Be a Butterfly. Attendees will pose for pictures behind the cut-out California dogface butterfly banner from the Bohart Museum. They also will see Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas' macro images of the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and adult. The California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, is the state insect, as designated by State Legislature in 1972. The butterfly is found only in California from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the Coast Ranges and from Sonoma south to San Diego. Its habitat also includes Gates Canyon, Vacaville. The male butterfly, which sports a yellow silhouette of a dog's head on its wings, is known as "the flying pansy." The female is mostly solid yellow except for a single black spot on its upper wings.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Visitors received free posters of the colorful butterfly, the state insect; learned how to use an insect net to catch a paper butterfly; and posed for images behind the dogface butterfly face banner.
At the California dogface butterfly table, entomologist Fran Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College who doubles as a Bohart Museum scientist and a UC Davis doctoral alumna, discussed her children's book, The Story of the Dogface Butterfly, published in 2013.
Popular in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms, and in private and public collections throughout the country, the 35-page book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), and how a classroom successfully mounted a campaign to convince the California State Legislature to name it the state insect in 1972.
The book depicts the life cycle of the butterfly and also discusses the larval host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica). The photos, primarily taken in Auburn on Placer Land Trust private land, are by Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas and Keller. Laine Bauer, then a UC Davis undergraduate student, created the illustrations. The book is available at the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane.
The posters, also the work of Keller and Kareofelas, show a male and female dogface butterfly. The male is nicknamed "the flying pansy," and sports a doglike yellow silhouette on its wings. The female is mostly solid yellow except for a single black spot on its upper wings.
In the live petting zoo, visitors held thorny stick insects and tomato hornworm caterpillars. The caterpillars wlll become the five-spotted hawkmoth, Manduca quinquemaculata, family Sphingidae.
The Bohart Museum's Picnic Day display followed the theme, "Bonding with the Bohart," in reference to Professor Jason Bond, the newly announced director, as of Feb. 1. He succeeds UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, who served 34 years as director. Bond is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He also serves as president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.
The next Bohart Museum open house will take place Sunday, May 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. The theme: "Bees, Both Wild and Managed," featuring the research of scientists from the Department of Entomology and Nematology. The event is free and family friendly. Parking is also free.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
In celebrating the California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, visitors at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house learned about the biology and history of the insect, engaged in arts and crafts, and enjoyed two specially decorated sheet cakes, one featuring the male dogface butterfly and the other, the female.
The occasion: the 50th anniversary of the year that the California State Legislature designated the California dogface butterfly as the state insect. Most attending the open house have never seen the butterfly in the wild.
The dogface butterfly, found only in California, thrives at its major breeding ground, the Shutamul Bear River Preserve in Auburn, a private preserve maintained by the Placer Land Trust (PLT). It's there because its host plant, false indigo, Amorpha californica, is there--amid the steep canyons, wildflowers poison oak and other vegetation.
Kareofelas, who has reared multiple dogface butterflies from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult, showed a PowerPoint of images he captured of the life cycle and discussed the history and biology of the butterfly. He serves as a volunteer docent for PLT.
Communications specialist Julia Boorinakis Harper Barbeau of Placer Land Trust narrated a video and staffed a table with fellow PLT'ers Carole Gan and CollinHobb. Among others participating was naturalist and PLT docent volunteer Deren Ross, credited with finding the first dogface butterfly at the Shutamul Bear River Preserve. (See PLT news story)
UC Davis students and Bohart volunteers Danielle Sion and Amberly Hackmann encouraged the guests to make yellow felt butterflies, ornaments for their shoes, hair, belt and wrists. Guests also crafted caterpillar puppets. A stick insect at the Bohart Museum petting zoo, took the opportunity to walk on one of the caterpillar puppets.
Entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection, showed specimens, including dogface butterfly, monarch, morpho and viceroy specimens, and answered questions.
Meanwhile, entomologist and Bohart lab assistant Brennen Dyer staffed the gift shop. A budding entomologist named Chip, 2, of Woodland, showed off his newly purchased bug habitat cage and some toy critters.
The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It also maintains a live petting zoo and an insect-themed gift shop (including T-shirts, hoodies, books, jewelry, posters, collecting equipment).
The next Bohart Museum open house will be the annual Moth Night, held in observance of National Moth Week. The open house will be both indoor and outdoor from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, July 30. The event is free and family friendly, and visitors are encouraged to explore the world of moths in the Bohart's research collection and to see what lands on backlighting display: a hanging white sheet, illuminated by ultraviolet (UV) light and powered by a generator. The backlighting display will be a short, walking distance from the museum.
This summer the Bohart Museum is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., but groups must make reservations and all must follow the UC Davis visitor guidelines: https://campusready.ucdavis.edu/visitors?.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That story will be among the highlights of the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 16 in Room 1124 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the year the California State Legislature singled it out to be the state insect.
Professor Fran Keller of Folsom Lake College, a UC Davis doctoral alumnus and author of the children's book, The Story of the Dogface Butterfly, will read the 35-page book to children and parents at 1:30 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. in the Wildlife Classroom, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, located next door to the Bohart Museum in the Academic Surge Building.
The book features photos by Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas and Professor Keller, and illustrations by former UC Davis student Laine Bauer. The California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, found only in California, thrives at its major breeding ground, the Shutamul Bear River Preserve, a private preserve maintained by the Placer Land Trust (PLT).
It is there because its host plant, false indigo, Amorpha californica, is there, points out Kareofelas, who has reared multiple California dogface butterflies from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult. He serves as a volunteer docent for the PLT's Shutamul Bear River Preserve.
"Most people have never seen a single dogface butterfly (in the wild)," says Kareofelas. On a June 10th tour of the preserve, held specifically for the Bohart Museum, the group saw 75 to 100 dogface butterflies.
Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, who has monitored the butterfly populations of Central California for 50 years, said he has never seen 100 Zerene eurydice in his lifetime. He maintains a research site, Art's Butterfly World.
False indigo (Amorpha), its only known host plant, "is a rather inconspicuous shrub found with poison oak, willow, etc. near streambanks, often along boulder-strewn tributary streams in side canyons where access is very difficult," Shapiro says on his website.
The schedule:
1 p.m.: Event starts
Tabling: Placer Land Trust information table, Greg Kareofelas with live caterpillar/rearing project
Activities:
- Craft: Yellow felt dogface butterflies shoe/hair/belt/wrist ornaments
- Craft: Color the dogface butterfly life cycle (paper or for $8.50 for bandanna)
- Craft: Paper caterpillar puppet
- Petting Zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects, tartantulas)
- Butterfly collection exploration with entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection
- Butterfly banner photo-op
1:30 p.m.: Professor and author Fran Keller reads The Story of the Dogface Butterfly in the Wildlife Classroom
2:30 p.m.: Communication specialist Julia Boorinakis Harper Barbeau of Placer Land Trust shows four-minute video and Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas gives a talk/powerpoint about the history of the dogface (5-10 minutes) in the Wildlife Classroom
3 p.m.: Celebration dessert in the hallway with Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology
3:30 p.m.: Professor and author Fran Keller reads The Story of the Dogface Butterfly in the Wildlife Classroom
4 p.m.: Event ends
The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It also maintains a live petting zoo and an insect-themed gift shop (including T-shirts, hoodies, books, jewelry, posters, collecting equipment)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Land of Z? It's the home or major breeding ground of Zerene eurydice, the California dogface butterfly, the state insect. Where is this major breeding ground: At the 40-acre Shutamul Bear River Preserve, Auburn, maintained by Placer Land Trust (PLT).
The Land of B? That's the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, the venue for an open house showcasing the California dogface butterfly. The free and family friendly event will take place July 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 555 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. The crowd will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the year that the California State Legislature designated the dogface butterfly as the state insect.
Officials from both Placer Land Trust and the Bohart Museum will be at the open house to answer questions and provide information about the biology and history of the state insect. There also will be a family arts-and-craft activity.
To prepare for the open house and to gain more scientific knowledge, a Bohart Museum crew toured the "Land of Z" on June 10 (in 100-degree heat) and saw an estimated 75 to 100 dogface butterflies.
"Most people have never seen a single dogface butterfly in the wild, let alone 75 to 100 in one day," said Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas, a Davis-based naturalist who studies the insect and leads volunteer PLT tours. He has reared multiple California dogface butterflies, from egg, to caterpillar to chrysalis to adult, and will show the macro images at the open house.
Ross, a self-described naturalist, birdwatcher and "a practicing amateur lepidopterist," learned of the host plant's presence in 2005. If the host plant is there, he figured, the butterfly must be there, too.
Ross visited the site in the fall of 2008 but found only leafless twigs. Further investigation revealed that the "leafless twigs" were, in fact, false indigo, "and it was so abundant on the preserve he was sure the butterfly would be present as well," according to an article on the PLT website. "Ross visited the Shutamul Preserve only once a year for the next two years and during those visits was able to see many dogface butterflies. He later learned from Professor Art Shapiro at UC Davis that the life history of the dogface butterfly was not well understood, especially for the over-wintering adults. Ross saw this as a great opportunity to conduct a scientific study to document the life-cycle of this butterfly."
Found only in California, the rarely seen butterfly is also known as (1) "the flying pansy," referring to the male's spectacular black and yellow coloring, and (2) as a "dog head" butterfly (the markings on the male resemble a silhouette of a dog's head). The female is mostly solid yellow.The dogface butterfly is so named because the wings of the male appear to be a silhouette of a poodle.
Its range spans from San Diego County to Sonoma County, and it is usually found in mountain and foothill locations, according to PLT. UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology has recorded multiple sightings of the high-flying butterflies in Gates Canyon in Vacaville in his 50 years of monitoring butterflies in Central California. He has also seen it in his driveway in Davis. But, as Shapiro told us today, "I doubt if I have seen 100 in my entire life." (See his information on Zerene on his research site, Art's Butterfly World.)
- 2005: The Placer Land Trust acquired the 40-acre property from a willing seller.
- 2005/2006: California Native Plant Society reported false indigo at the Shutamul Bear River Preserve.
- 2007-2008: Deren Ross (accompanied by a PLT crew) discovered the California dogface butterfly there.
- 2011: Butterfly surveys and invitations to folks with an interest in plants and entomology began.
The PLT website reports: "In June 2011, Ross began going out to the Shutamul Preserve weekly to conduct male/female butterfly counts and behavior patterns. It proved to be a very exciting study; eggs were observed being laid on the False Indigo and then caterpillars got busy munching away at the plant. Previous research indicates the butterfly has two broods per year: one brood from April to July (adult life-span 3-4 months) and a second in August to October (adult life-span 6-8 months). The adults from the last brood overwinter in a state of hibernation until emerging again in early spring and mating."
Ross discovered a dogface in "near mint condition" on March 8, 2012. Now he and Kareofelas are investigating whether the dogface overwinters as a chrysalis.
The UC Davis crew on the trip included Tom Zavortink, Bohart research associate and entomologist; Professor Fran Keller of Folsom Lake College, a Bohart scientist; Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon, curator and collections manager; Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas; Bohart lab assistant Brennen Dyer; Tabatha Yang, Bohart education and outreach coordinator; and Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, Department of Entomology and Nematology. UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart, which includes a global collection of eight million insect specimens, was unable to attend.
History
California legislators adopted the dogface butterfly as the official state insect on July 28, 1972. But as early as 1929, entomologists had already singled it out as their choice for state insect. Their suggestion appears in the California Blue Book, published by the State Legislature in 1929.(Read more on how the butterfly became the state insect under the Ronald Reagan administration.) In 1972, fourth grade students of Betty Harding and Shirley Klein in the Dailey Elementary School, Fresno, advocated that the butterfly be the state insect. The teachers and students enlisted the help of State Assemblyman Kenneth L. Maddy, who authored AB 1834.
In 2013, Fran Keller, then a doctoral student in entomology at UC Davis, published a 35-page children's book, The Story of the Dogface Butterfly that includes photos by Kareofelas and Keller, and illustrations by then UC Davis student Laine Bauer. The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly, and how the Fresno schoolchildren became involved in convincing the State Legislature to select the butterfly as the state insect. Both the book and a Keller-Kareofelas poster of the male and female butterfly are available for sale in the gift shop at the Bohart Museum.
In 2017 Kareofelas led a tour for the KVIE "Rob on the Road" TV program. It is online at http://vids.kvie.org/video/3002661342/
Although most people have never seen the California dogface butterfly in the wild, they may have noticed a tiny image of the insect on California driver licenses. It also appears on first-class stamps, on the California State Fair monorail, and on a wine label.