- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Photos, that is, of children's candid expressions?
Priceless.
Curiosity, delight and awe punctuated the open house, co-hosted by the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the American Arachnological Society (AAS), last Saturday afternoon in the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
The event drew Iael Raij-Hoffman, a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, and her son, Shaked Hoffman, 5, of Davis.
Marta Erismann, 8, of Sacramento, attended with her father, Fernando Erissmann. "She has her sights set on attending UC Davis when she grows up," the father shared. He said he will be studying biomedical engineering in graduate school this fall at UC Davis.
Alexis Rainwater, 8, of Woodland, attending with her parents, participated in many of the activities, including crafting a spider, and submitting a name for the new species of spider in a contest coordinated by the Jason Bond arachnology lab.
Twenty-one-month-old Eleanor Bielski was fascinated by a jarred spider specimen that her mother, Laura McKay held up for her to see.
The open house, "Eight-Legged Encounters, " was a free, family friendly event and an opportunity to talk to the "powerhouse" of arachnologists enrolled in the American Arachnological Society (AAS) conference at UC Davis. The open house kicked off their June 26-30 meeting.
Some 20 tables with exhibits and hands-on activities lined the hallway of Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124, showcased spiders as well as insects. The museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, as well as a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop.
The hallway tables featured spider specimens, live arachnids, and art and science activities, noted AAS conference co-chair and arachnologist Jason Bond, associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Co-host of the open house was Professor Eileen Hebets of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, recipient of a U.S. National Science Foundation grant, “Eight-Legged Encounters,” designed to connect arachnologists with communities, especially youth.
Hebets seeks to educate the public “about the wonders of biology and the possibility of scientific discovery using a charismatic and engaging group of animals--arachnids. Arachnids (spiders and their relatives) are ubiquitous, thriving in most habitable environments on our planet (including underwater),” she says on her website.
On Tuesday, June 28, AAS is sponsoring a series of arachnid lectures, free and open to the public, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the newly constructed 600-seat lecture hall, California Hall. The event will be casual, with scientists discussing their work, Bond said.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Those who know that spiders have eight legs know exactly what's being showcased at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, "Eight-Legged Encounters," on Saturday, June 25.
Spiders and other arachnids.
And you're invited.
"Eight-Legged Encounters" is a free, family friendly event where you can talk to world-renowned arachnologists who are attending the American Arachnological Society (AAS) conference at UC Davis. The open house kicks off their June 26-30 meeting.
Some 20 tables with exhibits and hands-on activities will line the hallway of Academic Surge on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. “There will be everything--spider specimens, live arachnids, activities, artwork, etc., at the open house," says AAS conference co-chair and arachnologist Jason Bond, associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Listen to Jason Bond's interview on Capital Public Radio.)
Professor Eileen Hebets of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, will set up the displays as part of her U.S. National Science Foundation grant, “Eight-Legged Encounters” that she developed as an outreach project to connect arachnologists with communities, especially youth.
Also at the open house, students 18 and under are invited to suggest a name for a new species of trapdoor spider in a contest coordinated by the Bond lab.
If you want encounters with butterfly, bee or beetle specimens before your eight-legged encounters, step into the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building. It houses eight million insect specimens; a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas); and an insect-themed gift shop. Scientists will be on hand to guide you and answer your questions.
Folks are also looking forward to the AAS series of arachnid lectures, free and open to the public, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, in the newly constructed 600-seat lecture hall, California Hall.
But first, there's the Eight-Legged Encounters. Not Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but Close Encounters with the Eight-Legged Kind.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"But this weekend some of the country's top experts on arachnids — the group that includes not just spiders but scorpions, mites and ticks, among others — will be in Davis to help demystify the amazing creatures, and even name a new species."
So begins a news story posted today on the Capital Public Radio website by Chris Hagan, managing editor, Digital Content for CapRadio. Senior news producer Drew Sandsor interviewed UC Davis arachnologist Jason Bond, who is co-chairing the American Arachnological Society annual meeting, set June 26-30 at UC Davis. (Listen to the interview here and read the text.)
Bond is the associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
AAS will kick off the UC Davis conference by co-hosting an open house, "Eight-Legged Encounters," with the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The event takes place from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 25 in the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It's free, family friendly, and open to the public.
Some 20 exhibits and hands-on activities--educational and entertaining--will be set up in the hallway of the Academic Surge Building. “There will be everything--spider specimens, live arachnids, activities, artwork, etc., at the open house," said Bond, adding that a powerhouse of the nation's arachnologists will participate.
Students 18 and under will be invited to name a newly discovered trapdoor spider species from the genus Promyrmekiaphila. Conference co-host and postdoctoral research associate Lisa Chamberland is coordinating the spider-species naming project with second-year doctoral student Emma Jochim of the Bond lab and incoming doctoral student Iris Bright.
In addition to the open house, AAS has scheduled a series of arachnid lectures, free and open to the public, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, in the newly constructed 600-seat lecture hall, California Hall.
In the meantime, listen to Sandsor's interview with Jason Bond. You'll learn more about why spiders are essential to the ecosystem, why they are spectacular, and what spiders he likes best.
What's your favorite spider? And have you ever photographed them?
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen a crab spider hanging out on a flower?
Yes?
Ever seen a crab spider hanging out with two male longhorned bees that are sleeping overnight on a flower?
No?
Such was the case last night when a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, drew two Melissodes agilis and one crab spider. Ah, it was just a teeny tiny crab spider.
The next morning two of the floral tenants (the bees) were still there, but the third tenant, the crab spider, was gone.
Not sure if the bees got a good night's sleep....
Want to learn more about spiders?
No, don't run away!
Be sure to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, themed "Eight-Legged Encounters," from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 25 in the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis. Members of the American Arachnological Society (AAS) will kick-off their annual meeting by co-hosting the event. It's free and family friendly.
Some 20 tables will be set up in the Academic Surge Building hallway. A powerhouse of arachnologists will participate, according to arachnologist Jason Bond, associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. He is hosting the June 26-30 conference with Lisa Chamberland, postdoctoral research associate, Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Joel Ledford, assistant professor of teaching, Department of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences.
“There will be everything--spider specimens, live arachnids, activities, artwork, etc., at the open house," Professor Bond said.
Professor Eileen Hebets of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, is co-hosting the open house as part of a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, “Eight-Legged Encounters” that she developed as an outreach project to connect arachnologists with communities, especially youth. She seeks to educate the public “about the wonders of biology and the possibility of scientific discovery using a charismatic and engaging group of animals--arachnids. Arachnids (spiders and their relatives) are ubiquitous, thriving in most habitable environments on our planet (including underwater),” as mentioned on her website.
AAS is also sponsoring a lecture series from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, in the newly constructed 600-seat lecture hall, California Hall. It's free and open to the public. It will be quite casual, Bond said. Arachnologists will share some of their research.
Directed by UC Davis distinguished entomology professor Lynn Kimsey, the Bohart Museum houses eight million insect specimens; a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas); and an insect-themed gift shop. It is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building. See more information on its website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So here's this Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola.
It's National Pollinator Week. All's right with the world. The butterfly had visited a passionflower vine, Passiflora, its host plant.
Now for a little fuel. The nectar is enticing. The Gulf Frit flutters from flower to flower.
And then...it's targeted.
Get off my flower, that's mine! A very territorial male long-horned bee, Melissodes agilis, buzzes past, trying to dislodge the butterfly. Then another male appears. And another.
What's going on? Like frenzied kamikaze pilots, the males patrol the flowers, dive-bombing and dislodging any temporary tenants, in hopes of saving the nectar for the females of their species. And to mate with them.
It works.
After four attacks, the Gulf Frit decides the nectar is not worth it.