The glow on Valentina's face says it all. She and her parents, Martha Leija and Mario Preciado of Mexico City, recently visited the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The museum maintains a global collection of insects and draws citizens from all over the world. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visitors "can learn about the defensive strategies these insects use for survival, such as camouflage, warning coloration, mimicry of other species," says entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Lepidoptera collection. "We love to teach about the importance of Lepidoptera in the environment, either to their habitat directly or possibly as an indicator of the health of their habitat." 

Both Smith and fellow Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas are usually there to show the specimens and answer questions. The Bohart draws scientists and citizens from all over the world.

At the last open house, Kareofelas and Bohart research associate Britanny Kohler showed specimens to a family from Mexico City: mother Martha Leija, daughter Valentina, 8, and father Mario Preciado.

Valentina is keenly interested in morphos and monarchs, and the excitement on her face told it all.

"Without a doubt, the biggest 'Wow Factor' comes from the huge and brilliant metallic blue morpho butterflies from tropical America," Smith said. 

The Bohart's monarch butterfly specimens comprise five drawers and they include specimens from the Pacific Islands, Australia and Eastern Asia, as well as the United States.

When are the next open houses?

• Saturday, April 15. The Bohart will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day. The Bohart theme?  "Bugs, Boom, Bang." 

• Sunday, May 21. "Ants!" will theme this open house. It's set from 1 to 4 p.m.

•  Saturday, July 22. It's the traditional Moth (and Flies) Night. The event takes place in the evening from 8 to 11. 

The open houses are always free and family friendly.

The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.

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. The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.

The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.  More information is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator at tabyang@ucdavis.edu

A honey bee gathers nectar on sedum at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two open houses on Saturday, Sept. 22 have differing hours so you can attend both!

• The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus
  
• The Bohart Museum of Entomology, home of nearly eight million insect specimens, will host an open house, themed "Crafty Insects,"  from 1 to 4 p.m. at its headquarters in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane.

Both are free and family friendly. This weekend is also "move-in" weekend for UC Davis students, so students, their families and friends will be getting acquainted with the campus--and many may visit the bee garden and the insect museum. 

Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven

Activities at the garden, located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, west of the central campus, will include  the popular catch-and-release bee activity; a sale of plants  and bee condos (for leafcutter bees and mason bees), and a display of pollinator images by Allan Jones of Davis, according to Christine Casey, academic program manager.

A six-foot long mosaic and ceramic sculpture of a worker bee, the work of self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick, anchors the garden.  The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, founded and directed by the duo of entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and Billick, coordinated the art in the garden through their classes. 

The garden, planted in the fall of 2009 and directed by Extension apiculturist Elina L. Niño. was founded and "came to life" during the term of interim department chair, Professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, who coordinated the entire project.  A Sausalito team--landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki--winners of an international competition, designed the garden.

The garden is open to the public--no admission--from dawn to dusk. See more information on the haven website.

Bohart Museum of Entomology

Visitors to the Bohart Museum are invited to do "rock art." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visitors are invited to display insect-themed crafts they've made and/or are "finds."

“We are hoping to have two parallel exhibits--one where we show crafty insects and then one where we are asking people to bring insect-themed crafts from their home--a plate with a cicada on it, or mug shaped like a wasp or we have a bee-shaped stapler for example,” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “We'll have a place for them to display their crafts.”

“Crafty insects can be interpreted in two ways,” Yang commented. ‘Crafty' can be makers such as caddis fly larvae, case bearer moths, and potter wasps. The other crafty interpretation is sneaky, so our live orchid mantid,  the dead leaf butterfly like Kallima inachus will be on display.” Activities are to include “spot the flower fly versus bee activity” and “spot the assassin fly versus bumblebee activity.”

For the family crafts activity, visitors will be painting rocks (think insects!) that can be hidden on campus or elsewhere or taken home. This activity is based on UC Davis Rocks,the brainchild of Kim Pearson and Martha Garrison of the College of Letters and Science. 

Bohart associates Jeff Smith, curator of the butterfly and moth exhibit and naturalist-photographer Greg Kareofelas will be on hand to shows the collection. UC Davis student Lohit Garikipati will display some of his praying mantids, including orchids.

The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis,  houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity.  In addition to the petting zoo, the museum features a year-around gift shop, which is stocked with T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.

The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. It is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free.  More information on the Bohart Museum is available on the website or by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu

Mark your calendar!

You won't want to miss the summer weekend open houses at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. Both are free, open to the public and family friendly.

The first one is themed "Fire and Ice: Extreme California Insects" and will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19. "We will be exploring extreme insects from the deserts and the mountains of California," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.

The last one of summer is "Crafty Insects," from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22. "We will be having a two-way museum,
 Yang said. "We will be displaying crafty--think cunning--insects and we are going to ask people to bring insect crafts that they have made, so all those folks who do felted, knitted, carved, sculpted crafters can share. Any and all hand-made, flea-shaped tea cozies are welcomed!"

The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis,  houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity.  In addition to the petting zoo, the museum features a year-around gift shop, which is stocked with T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy. 

The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. It is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free. 

More information on the Bohart Museum is available on the website or by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.

Additional Information:
Extreme Insects

Butterflies from Belize will be among the specimens highlighted at the Sept. 18 open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and Tabatha Yang, public education and outreach coordinator, have just announced the schedule for the special weekend hours for the academic year.

The museum, world-renowned for its global collection of some eight million insects, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis.

Admission? Free. Parking? Free. It doesn't get any better than that! Visitors find it both educational and entertaining.

The schedule:

• Sunday, Sept. 18, 1 to 4 p.m.: “UnBelize-able Expedition: Collecting Tropical Insects” (summer collection trip led by Bohart associate/entomologist Fran Keller, assistant professor of biology, Folsom Lake College,  and Dave Wyatt, professor of biology at Sacramento City College)
• Saturday, Nov. 19: 1 to 4 p.m.: “Uninvited Guests: Common Pests Found in the Home”
• Sunday, Jan. 22: 1 to 4 p.m.: “Parasite Palooza: Botflies, Fleas and Mites, Oh, My”
• Saturday, Feb. 18: (varying times throughout campus): Biodiversity Museum Day, an opportunity to explore 11 UC Davis collections
• Sunday, March 19: 1 to 4 p.m.: “Eggs to Wings: Backyard Butterfly Gardening”
• Saturday, April 22: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: “”UC Davis Picnic Day”

The Bohart Museum also maintains a live “petting zoo,” featuring walking sticks, Madagascar hissing cockroaches and tarantulas. Current residents also include Gulf Fritillary caterpillars and chrysalids (soon to be butterflies), and a female juvenile praying mantis. A gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.

The Bohart Museum's regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free. 

More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or bmuseum@ucdavis.edu. The website is http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/

Here's a look--in pictures--at some of the educational and fun activities at the last open house, held July 30. Visitors learned about moths and other insects (it featured National Moth Night), met the scientists one-on-one, engaged in family activities, and checked out the collections.

And, oh, yes, you can take selfies with such critters as a rose-haired tarantula and a walking stick!