- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Then you'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on "Insects, Art and Culture" from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 15 on the UC Davis campus.
The Bohart Museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. The event is free and family friendly.
Among artists represented will be UC Davis graduate student Srdan Tunic; UC Davis undergraduate students Allen Chew, Francisco Basso and Brittany Kohler; and UC Davis alumna Megan Ma; plus the work of the late scientific illustrator Mary Foley Benson (1905-1992), employed by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture, the Smithsonian before retiring and moving to Davis. She also did illustrations for several UC Davis entomologists.
Tunic, a UC Davis candidate for a master's degree in art history, will present a seminar on Benson from 11 a.m. to noon, Oct. 15, in Room 1010 of the TLC Teaching and Learning Complex, 482 Hutchison Drive. (See research story on Mary Foley Benson by forest entomologist Malcolm Furniss)
The family arts-and-crafts activity at the open house will be to "create your own Pokemon card," said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology. Also planned: eating insects, creating gall ghosts (from oak galls), learning about cochineal dyes, and showing off insect tattoos.
"We would love to have folks come and show off their insect tattoos," Kimsey said.
The UC Davis museum, founded in 1946 by noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007), is dedicated to teaching, research and service. It is the home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens. The collection is now the seventh largest in North America and includes terrestrial and fresh water arthropods. The museum is also home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity of California's deserts, mountains, coast, and the Great Central Valley. In addition, the Bohart features a live "petting zoo" (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, jewelry, posters, books and insect-collecting equipment.
The Bohart is open to the public year-around (except for holidays) Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed to the public on Friday to enable research activities. Admission is free. For more information, access the website or contact the museum at bmuseum@udavis.edu.
![Megan Ma of the Jason Bond lab, UC Davis, is both a scientist and a scientific illustrator. In 2021, she received a National Science Foundation Award, Research Experience for Post-Baccalaureate Students. In June 2021, she received a bachelor's degree in evolution, ecology and biodiversity, with a minor in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Megan Ma of the Jason Bond lab, UC Davis, is both a scientist and a scientific illustrator. In 2021, she received a National Science Foundation Award, Research Experience for Post-Baccalaureate Students. In June 2021, she received a bachelor's degree in evolution, ecology and biodiversity, with a minor in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/95445.jpg)
![This illustration of a Jerusalem cricket, aka potato bug, by UC Davis student Allen Chew, adorns a Bohart Museum t-shirt. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This illustration of a Jerusalem cricket, aka potato bug, by UC Davis student Allen Chew, adorns a Bohart Museum t-shirt. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/95446.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs and honey bees.
What exists in nature is replicated in art.
We sculpt them, draw them and paint them. We create their images on everything from clothing and jewelry to quilts and stepping stones. We never tire of their shapes, colors, textures and the extensive variety.
Many replicas find their way into exhibits at county fairs.
We saw more than a dozen "insects" today in McCormack Hall at the Solano County Fair, Vallejo. A butterfly morphs into a quilt. Another butterfly yields its shape for a stepping stone. A honey bee transforms into a keychain. Dragonfly and ladybug decorations glide and crawl among the exhibits.
The 60th annual event, set July 22-26, is themed "Raisin' Steaks" but it's also raising awareness of nature.
And why not?
Insects reign supreme in sheer variety and abundance. Scientists have recorded some million insects to date. Millions of others await identification. In total volume, there could be as many as 200 million insects for every human on the planet. They're all around us.
Interesting that we seek beneficial insects for our gardens, but the "revolting ones" we set aside for horror movies.
![BUTTERFLIES abound at the Solano County Fair. Here assistant fair manager Chad Cabral (left) and Elisa Seppa, superintendent of McCormack Hall, look over a butterfly decoration. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) BUTTERFLIES abound at the Solano County Fair. Here assistant fair manager Chad Cabral (left) and Elisa Seppa, superintendent of McCormack Hall, look over a butterfly decoration. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2128.jpg)
![COLORFUL BUTTERFLY QUILT, the work of longtime 4-H volunteer Linda Douthit of Fairfield, decorates a corner of McCormack Hall at the Solano County Fair, Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) COLORFUL BUTTERFLY QUILT, the work of longtime 4-H volunteer Linda Douthit of Fairfield, decorates a corner of McCormack Hall at the Solano County Fair, Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2129.jpg)
![STEPPING STONE, shaped like a butterfly, draws interest at the Solano County Fair, Vallejo. This is the work of 15-year-old Rachel Magnan of Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) STEPPING STONE, shaped like a butterfly, draws interest at the Solano County Fair, Vallejo. This is the work of 15-year-old Rachel Magnan of Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2130.jpg)
![A HONEY BEE is transformed into a key chain at McCormack Hall, Solano County Fair. This is the work of Cainan Gaddy, 6, of Fairfield. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Gavey) A HONEY BEE is transformed into a key chain at McCormack Hall, Solano County Fair. This is the work of Cainan Gaddy, 6, of Fairfield. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Gavey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/2131.jpg)