Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum

There's a donate button on its website. All gifts are tax-deductible.

The Bohart Museum, home of nearly eight million insect specimens from around the world, also has a year-around gift shop (think t-shirts, posters, books, jewelry and insect-collecting equipment) and a live "petting zoo," consisting of about 200 critters, ranging from Madagascar hissing cockroaches to tarantulas to walking sticks.

Directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, the museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building. Admission is free. It's open to the public Monday through Thursday, except on holidays. (See calenar on the home page)

A little information about the Bohart Museum, per Lynn Kimsey:

• We connect with nearly 15,000 visitors, both at the museum, in classrooms and through public events
• We identify more than 1000 unknown insects each year, guiding consumers to appropriate and cost-effective control strategies when needed.
• Helping people understand insects and spiders is one of the things we do best

State budget cuts "have a deep impact on the UC system, including the Bohart Museum," Kimsey points out.  Here are examples of what donations from $20 to $1000 can mean:

• $20 donation:  A teacher can borrow "Oh, My" boxes (educational specimen displays) and live animals to enhance their lesson plans
• $100 donation: New traveling exhibit boxes can be developed to meet the educational needs of teachers
• $200 donation: Bohart educators can visit a school and work with multiple classes to teach them about insects in an engaging hands-on manner
• $1000 donation: This supports an undergraduate student working in the museum for one quarter. With tuition and fees increasing, students need paying jobs. Working in the museum alongside scientists, and learning about insects can be a life-changing experience.

Through donations, the Bohart can better serve the community  "and you (donor) may even inspire a new bug lover!" Kimsey says.  Folks can also join the Bohart Museum Society; membership has its privileges. In addition, newly discovered insects can be named for a loved one. For more information and details, contact (530) 752-0493 or bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.

Stag beetles grace the winning t-shirt in the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association contest. It is the work of Stacey Rice.

Now you can not only see a stag beetle, you can wear one.  In fact, four of them. 

Entomologist Stacey Lee Rice won the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students Association's annual t-shirt design contest with her artistic  stag beetle t-shirt that's already a conversation starter. The shirt is available for sale at https://mkt.com/UCDavisEntGrad

Rice, a junior specialist in the lab of Extension entomologist Larry Godfrey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, says the harmony between nature and insects inspires her art. 

The stag beetle t-shirt design not only incorporates her love for stag beetles (family Lucanidae) but illustrates the “geometric patterns that are hidden in the deciduous forests they dwell in,” said Rice, who as a scientist and artist, enjoys fusing science with art.

She loves the complexity and beauty of insects. "I'm captivated by insects' structural biology, ability to evolve over time and the intricate ways in which they communicate,” she said.

A repeat winner, Rice also won the EGSA's 2015 t-shirt contest with her depiction of a wasp riding a penny-farthing or high-wheel bicycle. Both t-shirts, along with scores of other winning t-shirts, are available for sale on the EGA website, https://mkt.com/UCDavisEntGrad

Her research in the Godfrey lab, in collaboration with Ian Grettenberger, postdoctoral research associate, involves investigating the biology and behavioral ecology of the bagrada bug, Bagrada hilaris, an invasive species from Africa. The now widespread stink bug attacks cole crops, including broccoli, cabbage, collards, arugula, cauliflower, kale, and mustard.

“Dr. Grettenberger has taught me how to manage time and stay organized in order to execute an effective research plan,” Rice said, “and I am inspired by his enthusiasm to solve problems.”

 “With the support of Dr. Larry Godfrey (Extension entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology), I have been motivated to pursue my Ph.D," Rice said. "I'm grateful for his commitment to fostering my intellectual growth, and dedication to mentoring a young woman scientist in a field where women are frequently underrepresented.”

A native of Roseville, Rice received her bachelor's degree in biological sciences with a minor in medical-veterinary entomology in March 2015. Her career goal, to become a professional research entomologist, stems from her childhood interest in the biological sciences.

“I'm particularly interested in integrated pest management practices that could have real world impact,” Rice said. “By understanding the biology and behaviors of pest insects, as well as their interaction with other organisms, the reliance on heavy pesticide use in agriculture may become minimized and more targeted. “

Rice hopes to enroll in graduate school in autumn 2017. Meanwhile, she continues to share her fascination for insects with friends, family and the Davis community.

For several years, Rice was active in the UC Davis Entomology Club, advised by forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty. “I consider Bob Kimsey as my mentor and friend," she said. "Along with the various projects of the entomology club, he has instilled in me a deep curiosity of the natural world and a strong desire to give back to the community as an entomologist.”

Rice's award-winning t-shirt first went on sale at the Entomological Society of America/International Congress of Entomology meeting, held in early November in Orlando, Fla.

EGSA treasurer Cindy Preto of the Frank Zalom lab is coordinating the t-shirt sales. The themes include honey bees,  beetles, a wasp, a moth, weevils (“See No Weevil, Hear No Weevil and Speak No Weevil")  and “Entomology's Most Wanted” (malaria mosquito, red-imported fire ant, bed bug and house fly). One of the best sellers is “The Beetles,” mimicking The Beatles' album cover, “Abbey Road.”  All proceeds benefit EGSA.

What's a picnic without bugs?

Bugs may be uninvited guests at your family picnic, but at the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, set Saturday, April 16, bugs are not only invited, but more than welcome. And so are you, your family and friends. In fact, thousands will be attending the 102nd annual celebration, themed "Cultivating Your Authenticity."

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is among the departments participating, with activities at Briggs Hall on Kleiber Hall Drive from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and an open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Briggs Hall will be the site of a pollination pavillion, maggot art, cockroach races, fly-tying, face-painting,  honey tasting, and a bee observation hive, and displays about ants, mosquitoes, aquatic insects and forest insects. The Bug Doctor booth ("The Doctor Is in") will be staffed by faculty and graduate students,  while UC Davis forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, aka "The Fly Man of Alcatraz," will man the Dr. Death table.

The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) will give away lady beetles, aka ladybugs, to kids to take home to their gardens. Lady beetles are beneficial insects and will make short work of your aphids. UC IPM also will provide advice on how to manage home and garden pests with environmentally sound methods. 

At the pollinator pavilion, you can get up close and personal with butterflies, bees and other pollinators and learn how to protect our pollinators.

At the maggot art table, youths are invited to dip maggots into water-soluble paint and coax them to "create art" on a piece of white paper. Voila! Suitable for framing. And what a great conversation piece!

At the cockroach races, you are invited to cheer for your favorite roach. Everyone has a favorite roach, don't they?

You can also purchase a popular insect-themed t-shirt from the Entomology Graduate Student Association. Think beetles, bees, and wanna-bees.

Mosquitoes? They're invited, too. The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will provide an educational exhibit about mosquito abatement.

Another popular exhibit at Briggs Hall is fly-tying by the Fly Fishers of Davis. They'll show you how to tie a fly.

At the Bohart Museum, the focus will be on "real insects as mimics." You'll see flies that look like bees--and bees that look like flies. In addition, you can hold and photograph the critters in the live "petting zoo," including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, and rose-haired tarantulas. The gift shop, featuring t-shirts, books, posters, insect collecting equipment, will be open.

All in all, it promises to be a picnic that will "bug ya." That's the plan!

Entomologist Fran Keller, a Bohart Museum associate, with a children's book she wrote. It's illustrated by Greg Kareofelas and Laine Bauer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That's the theme of the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday,  Dec. 5 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, University of California, Davis.

In addition to the many exciting activities planned that day--it's free and open to the public--you can visit the museum's gift shop and find something “buggy” for holiday season for you or your family and friends. The gift shop is also open during the museum's regular hours, from 9 to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.

Want a monarch butterfly t-shirt? Check.

Want some dragonfly earrings? Check.

Want some stocking stuffers, such as see-through lollipops with tasty crickets inside? Check.

Want an insect net for the budding entomologist in your family? Check.

Want some books on bees and bumblebees or a children's book on California's state insect, the dogface butterfly or a children's book on a butterfly found in the Amazon forest? Check.

Here are some of the items available at the Bohart Museum:  

• Earrings and necklaces (with motifs of bees, dragonflies, moths, butterflies and other insects)
• 

  If you like jewelry with an insect motif, the Bohart Museum of Entomology can oblige. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
  T--shirts for babies, children and adults (walking sticks, monarch butterflies, beetles, dragonflies, dogface butterflies and the museum logo)
• Insect candy (lollipops with either crickets and scorpions, and chocolate-covered scorpions)
• Insect-themed food, Chapul bars made with cricket flour, and flavored mealworms and crickets
• Insect collecting equipment: bug carriers, nets, pins, boxes, collecting kits
• Plastic insect toys and stuffed animals (mosquito, praying mantis, bed bug and others)
• Handmade redwood insect storage boxes by Bohart Museum associate Jeff Smith
• Posters (Central Valley butterflies, dragonflies of California, dogface butterfly), prints of selected museum specimens
• Books by museum-associated authors:
• The Story of the Dogface Butterfly (Fran Keller, Greg Kareofelas and Laine Bauer), Insects and Gardens Insects and Gardens: In Pursuit of a Garden Ecology (Eric Grissell), Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (co-authored by Robbin Thorp), California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (co-authored by Robbin Thorp), Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento Region (Art Shapiro), Butterfly Wish (Steve Stoddard, pen name S.S. Dudley), and multiple dragonfly books by Kathy Biggs.
• Notecards of bees and other pollinators by yours truly and Mary Foley Benson's wasp and caterpillar art
• Bohart logos (youth t-shirts, stickers and patches
• Used books
• Gift memberships 
• Naming of insect species in the biolegacy program

 All proceeds go for a good cause--funding the operation of the Bohart Museum. Directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, it houses nearly eight million insect specimens from throughout the world. Another popular attraction is the live "petting" zoo where you can hold and photograph Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and a rose-haired tarantula named "Peaches."

Keep calm and insect on!