UC Davis Professor Phil Ward checking out an ant (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Or come for the hissers, stay for the ants.

Either way, it's all good.

When the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house on Sunday, May 21 from 1 to 4 p.m., ants will be the main attraction, but don't forget the critters in the live "petting zoo."

The Phil Ward lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will provide live ants and specimens, and answer questions, one on one.

The open house, free and family friendly, takes place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.

At the petting zoo, you can meet Princess Herbert, Coco McFluffin, Peaches and Beatrice and more. 

Those are just a few of the tenants, says research associate Brittany Kohler, the zookeeper. Here are some of the critters:

Walking Sticks (5 species):

• Great thin stick insects (Ramulus nematodes), native to Malaysia, dimorphic (blue males)
• Borneo thorny stick insect (Aretaon asperrimus), native to Borneo
• Vietnamese stick insect (Medauroidea extradentata), native to Vietnam 
• Golden-eyed stick insect (Peruphasma schultei) native to Peru/Ecuador
• Australian Leaf insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), native to Northern forests of Australia 

Tarantulas/Spiders (6 species):

• Princess Herbert, the Brazilian salmon-pink bird-eating tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana). She is estimated to be around 20 years old, the oldest current resident of the Bohart Museum
• Peaches, the Chilean rose hair tarantula (Grammostola rosea)
• Coco McFluffin, the Chaco golden knee tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes), native to Paraguay and Argentina 
• Two black widows (Latrodectus hesperus)
• One brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) 

Cockroaches (2 species):

• Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina sp.)
• Giant Cave cockroach (Blaberus giganteus) 

Centipede:

• Beatrice the Vietnamese centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes), the newest resident

Also:

• Ironclad beetles 
• Bark scorpion 

The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus the petting zoo and a gift shop stocked with insect-themed books, posters, jewelry, t-shirts, hoodies and more. Founded in 1946 and committed to "understanding, documenting and communicating terrestrial arthropod diversity," the Bohart Museum is named for UC Davis professor and noted entomologist Richard Bohart. The insect museum is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m.

More information is available on the Bohart website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or by emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.

Theme of the Bohart's open house is "Bugs, Boom, Bang!" This critter, a Madagascar hissing cockroach, will hiss. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That's the theme of the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house when the scientists and associates greet visitors during the 109th annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 15.

The Bohart will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The location: Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.

The Bohart Museum, the seventh largest insect collection in North America, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. Plus, it features a live "petting zoo" of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects (walking sticks), tarantulas and many more. You'll meet Princess Herbert, a Brazilian salmon-pink bird-eating tarantula; Peaches, a Chilean rose hair tarantula; CocoMcFluffin, aChaco golden knee tarantula; and a Vietnamese centipede named Beatrice.  Research associate Brittany Kohler serves as "the zookeeper."

The Bohart Museum also provides an insect-theme gift shop, stocked with books, posters, jewelry, t-shirts, hoodies and collecting equipment.

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 by the late professor Richard Bohart, is directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, who received her doctorate in 1976 from UC Davis, studying with Bohart. 

Entomological activities at Briggs Hall will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See Bug Squad)

Here's a video created by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences that offers a quick look at the Bohart.

Teddy Marlatte's facial expression says it all. He was celebrating his fourth birthday when he and his family visited the Bohart Museum of Entomology on Jan. 12. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, my!

If you visit the Bohart Museum of Entomology's petting zoo, you'll see Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects,  tarantulas, cave roaches, black widow spiders, a brown widow spider, and a Vietnamese centipede named Beatrice, the newest resident.

Oh, my!

Insects fascinate Teddy Marlatte of Auburn, so it was only natural that his parents, Chris and Maddy Marlatte would drive him to the Bohart Museum on Thursday, Jan. 12, to help him celebrate his fourth birthday.  

His little sister, Reagan, 1-1/2, tagged along, too, but she favored her stuffed animal. Insects will come later!

"Teddy loves discovering things and looking at details and learning," his mother commented. "I think he could become an entomologist. A career with endless discovery and love for the finer details is right up his alley."

"It was our first time coming and we can't wait to visit again!" she said.

The Marlatte family admired dozens of specimens (the Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens) and then headed toward the petting zoo.

In awe, Teddy watched stick insects crawl up his arm, petted a Madagascar hissing cockroach, and observed (in their glass habitats), tarantulas named Princess Herbert, Coco McFluffin, Peaches and Cha-Cha; cave roaches;  black widow spiders; and a brown widow spider.

A stick insect crawls up the arm of Teddy Marlatte. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Kids really like the walking sticks, particularly the Peruvians and thornies (Borneo thorny stick insect," said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology.

The museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, is dedicated to "Understanding, documenting and communicating terrestrial arthropod diversity."

The petting zoo, a fan favorite, has been a part of the Bohart Museum since its beginnings in Briggs Hall. Founded in 1946, the museum is named for noted entomologist and UC Davis professor Richard Bohart (1913–2007).

"We've had the petting zoo since we were in Briggs Hall  (1990s-ish) but nothing like the current scale," said Kimsey, a UC Davis doctoral alumna who studied with "Doc" Bohart.

Bohart Museum research associate Brittany Kohler, a prospective graduate student, serves as "The Zookeeper," assisted by Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator, and various students.

Kohler lists the current residents:

Walking Sticks (5 species):

• Great thin stick insects (Ramulus nematodes), native to Malaysia, dimorphic (blue males)
• Borneo thorny stick insect (Aretaon asperrimus), native to Borneo
• Vietnamese stick insect (Medauroidea extradentata), native to Vietnam 
• Golden-eyed stick insect (Peruphasma schultei) native to Peru/Ecuador
• Australian Leaf insect (Extatosoma tiaratum), native to Northern forests of Australia 

• Princess Herbert, the Brazilian salmon-pink bird-eating tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana). She is estimated to be around 20 years old, the oldest current resident of the Bohart Museum
• Peaches, the Chilean rose hair tarantula (Grammostola rosea)
• Cha-Cha, the Mexican fire-leg tarantula (Brachypelma boehmei)
• Coco McFluffin, the Chaco golden knee tarantula (Grammostola pulchripes), native to Paraguay and Argentina 
• Two black widows (Latrodectus hesperus)
• One brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) 

• Beatrice the Vietnamese centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes), the newest resident

• Ironclad beetles 
• Bark scorpion 

The Vietnamese stick insect colony (Medauroidea extradentata) is an all-female colony, Kohler said. "They are parthenogenetic (a form of reproduction in which an egg can develop into an embryo without being fertilized by sperm). "Someone from the public recently named one Wubbie, the largest brown color morph."

"We also have three tobacco hornworm chrysalids that we're hoping will emerge into the six-lined sphinx moths," Kohler said. "We raise these periodically to show their life cycle."

Kimsey estimated that the Madagascar hissing cockroaches, aka "hissers," live about five years, and the cave roaches "probably the same."

"Tarantulas live decades, at least 25 years, probably longer," Kimsey said. "Stick insects? Not sure, but I'd guess up to a year."

During the Auburn family's Jan. 12 visit, Yang and Kohler introduced and discussed the zoo residents and answered questions.

And Teddy? His facial expressions said it all.

Editor's Note: The Bohart Museum is open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays.  Group reservations may be made through bmuseum@ucdavis.edu. The Bohart will host an open house, focusing on beetles, from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 22. Open to the public, it is free and family friendly. Among the presenters will be UC Davis graduate student and burying beetle researcher Tracie Hayes of the laboratory of Professor Louie Yang, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; beetle specialist Fran Keller, biology professor at Folsom Lake College and a Bohart Museum scientist and UC doctoral alumna; and Cal Fire bark beetle specialist Curtis Ewing, a senior environmental scientist, Forest Entomology and Pathology.

Lynn Kimsey, director

That would be the Indian domino cockroach, Therea petiveriana, also variously called the desert cockroach or seven-spotted cockroach.

It's one of the critters in the Bohart Museum's live "petting zoo," which also includes Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks or stick insects, and tarantulas.

A sign reveals: "These charismatic roaches live in the leaf litter of the scrub forests of Southern India.They primarily scavenge on leaf litter, dropped fruit, and the occasional yummy source of protein (usually dead insects). Their bright, black and white patterning is not for camouflage but instead to mimic the aggressive six-spot ground beetle."

That would be the aggressive ground beetle Anthia sexguttata known for its strong defenses, including the ability to spray chemical irritants.

The Bohart Museum, founded by noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007), 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 insect biodiversity. In addition, the Bohart maintains a year-around gift shop stocked with t-shirts, sweatshirts, jewelry, posters, stuffed toy animals (think water bears or tardigrades and other critters) books, insect-collecting equipment and more. 

"We are proud of the Bohart Museum's strong tradition of public outreach," wrote director Lynn Kimsey in a year-end report. "In the last year alone, we connected with more than 13,000 visitors, both at the museum and through programs and traveling exhibits to schools and public events. We answer more than 1000 questions about insects, spiders and their relatives every year, guiding consumers to take a deep breath or use appropriate and cost-effective control strategies. Helping people understand insects, and lose their fear of them, is one of the things we do best."

Want to become a member to help support its work? The Bohart Museum Society offers the following membership categories:

• Individual member, $25
• Student, $15 (one)
• $25 for student family
• Family, $40
• Patron, $100

Additional contributions to the Bohart Museum of Entomology endowment are very much welcome. Contributions are tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to the "Bohart Museum Society" and mailed to:

Bohart Museum of Entomology
Room 1124, Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane
University of California, Davis
Davis, Calif. 95616.

The insect museum is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., except on holidays. Visiting hours will end at 5 p.m., Dec. 16 and will resume at 9 a.m. on Jan. 6. The Bohart will  be closed to the public from Dec. 17 to Jan. 5. More information on the Bohart Museum is available on the website at http://bohart.ucdavis.edu or by contacting (530) 752-0493 or bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.