- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a fun and educational afternoon when the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology hosted an open house last Sunday.
Visitors checked out the displays, asked the entomologists and staff questions, and looked over the list of myths.
Yes, there are a lot of myths.
We'll share! (Ask the person next to you if he/she can answer them. No fair peeking at the answers)
1. Butterflies and moths can't fly if you rub the scales of their wings.
Answer: Not true, they can fly.
2. Black widow females eat the males after mating.
Answer: Only if the male isn't fast enough.
3. Chiggers burrow under your skin and suck your blood.
Answer: False. Chiggers simply feed and leave, like mosquitoes.
4. Brown recluse spiders are common in California, biting many people.
Answer: Brown recluse spiders are not found anywhere near California.
5. Ultrasonic devices help keep pests out of your kitchen.
Answer. False. Few insects can hear, certainly not cockroaches.
6. Camel spiders scream like babes, inject toxins and prey on GI's in Iraq.
Answer: Not true at any level.
7. Mosquitoes transmit HIV.
Answer: They cannot transmit HIV under any circumstances.
8. Earwigs crawl into your ear and lay eggs in your brain.
Answer. They sometime do crawl in ears by accident, but do not lay eggs.
9. Bedbugs bore, burrow, dig and fly.
Answer: No, they can only walk or scurry.
10. Insects don't feel pain.
Answer: Probably true; their nervous systems are too limited, any injury would probably kill them.
11. It is illegal to catch preying mantids and monarchs.
Answer: There are no laws against this.
12. Twenty-five percent of the protein in our diet is from swallowing spiders that crawl in our mouths at night.
Answer: This never happens.
13. Love bugs that plague the southeastern United States are the result of government experiments.
Answer: No, Mother Nature came up with this.
14. Ten percent of the weight of your pillow is house dust mites.
Answer: False. House dust mites are found only in coastal southeastern United States.
15. All bees die after stinging.
Answer: False. Only worker honey bees die after stinging.
16. Ticks must be removed by rotating them clockwise.
Answer: False. Just pull the tick straight out.
17. "Daddy long legs" are deadly, but their jaws are too small to bite humans.
Answer: False. Daddy long spiders, Pholcus phalangioides, also commonly called “cellar spiders,” have venom glands but relatively weak venom. "Daddy long legs" is a common name but not all are P. phalangioides.
18. Copper pennies cure bee stings.
Answer. No, it just doesn't work.
The Bohart Museum of Entomology, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology, is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays (except holidays). It is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane (corner of LaRue and Crocker). It is home to nearly eight million insect specimens, plus a live "petting zoo" (think Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas) and a year-around gift shop filled with T-shirts, jewelry, insect collecting equipment, posters, books and insect-themed candy.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Worker bees are males, right?
Butterflies and moths can't fly if you rub the scales off their wings, right?
Earwigs crawl into your ears and then into your brain, right?
Wrong. They're all widely known but falsely held beliefs.
What better place to learn about insect myths than the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology, home of nearly eight million insect specimens? An open house is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building, Crocker Lane.
The Bohart folks will dispel scores of myths, including these:
- Brown recluse spiders are found in California
- Daddy long-leg spiders are very venomous, but their mouths are too small to bite us.
- We swallow/eat a significant amount of spiders/insects in our sleep.
The open house is free and open to the public, and family friendly.
Directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, the insect museum is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity.
Special attractions include a live "petting zoo," featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas. Visitors are invited to hold the insects and photograph them. In addition, face painting will be among the family-oriented activities. Think bugs!
Visitors can also browse the gift shop, which includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy. (Gifts can also be purchased online.)
The Bohart Museum's popular open houses are in addition to its regular weekday hours, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. It is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
Here's a list of open houses through Saturday, July 18:
- Saturday, Dec. 20: “Insects and Art,” 1 to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Jan. 11: “Parasitoid Palooza,” 1 to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 8: “Biodiversity Museum Day,” noon to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, March 14: “Pollination Nation,” 1 to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, April 18: UC Davis Picnic Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sunday, May 17: “Name That Bug! How About Bob?” 1 to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, July 18: “Moth Night,” 8 to 11 p.m.
More information is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator at tabyang@ucdavis.edu