- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The museum, which houses nearly eight million insects, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on the UC Davis campus, Crocker Lane.
The event is free and open to the public. It's a family friendly event.
"Beetles," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart," are incredibly diverse from the dung beetles to the shiny wood-boring beetles to the mighty rhinoceros beetles. They are also spectacularly beautiful. Besides specimens from around the world, we also be displaying (not selling!) jewelry made from the wings of beetles--this was common practice in South America's indigenous populations."
In addition to displays of beetles, "we will have a fun hands-on craft, something involving sequins and another craft involving 'dung balls,' " Yang said.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis and housing nearly eight million specimens, is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
Special attractions at the Bohart include a live "petting zoo," with critters such as Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, tarantulas and prayingmantids. Visitors can also shop at the year-around gift shop (or online) for t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year. Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free. More information is available from Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu.
![This bedazzled beetle was worn as a living brooch and originated from Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Bohart Museum of Entomology) This bedazzled beetle was worn as a living brooch and originated from Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Bohart Museum of Entomology)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/19316.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Now, students who enroll in UC Davis biological sciences classes can come face to face with one of them every day.
Keller’s photo of a darkling beetle, Stenomorpha lecontei, graces the cover of the UC Davis edition of Life: The Science of Biology, by David Sadava, David Hillis, H. Craig Heller and May Berenbaum.
Keller captured the image of the beetle laying eggs in a vernal pool at the Carizzo Plain National Monument, San Luis Obispo County, Calif., while it was also eating pygmy weed, Crassula aquatic.
The book, published by Freeman Custom Publishing, New York City, and Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Mass. is customized for use by UC Davis instructors.
"Beetles are awe inspiring because they are so different,” said Keller, who is completing her requirements this year for a doctorate in entomology this year. She studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology.
“As a human, I and the 7 billion people on the planet are only one species, Homo sapiens," Keller said. "But the insect Order Coleoptera, or beetles, has more than 360,000 species. “Beetles have the greatest diversity of all the insects. Butterflies are big and showy, but beetles can be. too. On a ladybug, which is really a beetle and not a bug, those red and black spotted front wings are called elytra. Beetle elytra are not used for flying so beetles actually fly with one pair of wings. But those elytra help protect them because they can be very tough and sometimes incredibly flashy to warn off predators.”
Keller said that “If you can think of an ecological niche there is probably a beetle there taking advantage of the resources. Believe it or not, there is a beetle that is a parasite and lives in the butt of a beaver. Beetles are truly amazing and although I am partial to the flightless, black tenebrionids, I do collect and appreciate the beauty of all beetles. Okay, maybe I don't collect the beaver butt parasite beetle but wow, who would have thought beetles would be there!”
Keller, who noted that Darwin was an avid beetle collector and enthusiast, acknowledged that she has many "favorite groups of beetles," but "one of my favorites has to be the jewel beetles. Most of them are pests but they are very stunning, hence the name jewel beetle. There are so many different types of beetles that we know of or that have been described but there are still so many that await discovery."
Keller is a researcher, college instructor, mentor, artist, photographer, and author. She recently authored a 35-page children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” available in the the Bohart Museum gift shop and online at http://www.bohartmuseum.com/the-story-of-the-dogface-butterfly.html
The book, being used in kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms, and in private and public collections throughout the country, tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), and how a classroom successfully mounted a campaign to name it the California state insect. Illustrations by artist Laine Bauer, a UC Davis graduate, and photographs by naturalist Greg Kareofelas, a Bohart Museum volunteer, depict the life cycle of this butterfly and show the host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica).
Net proceeds from the sale of this book are earmarked for the education, outreach and research programs at the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building, Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
![A photo of a darkling beetle, by Fran Keller, graces the cover of this textbook. A photo of a darkling beetle, by Fran Keller, graces the cover of this textbook.](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/18727.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The garden, planted in the fall of 2009, is located on Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
Kimsey was singled out for her work when the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America honored her and four others--"The Bee Team"--with the 2013 outstanding team award.
A Sausalito team--landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki--won the design competition.
The judges were Professor Kimsey; founding garden manager Missy Borel (now Missy Borel Gable), then of the Califoria Center for Urban Horticulture; David Fujino, executive director, California Center for Urban Horticulture at UC Davis; Aaron Majors, construction department manager, Cagwin & Dorward Landscape Contractors, based in Novato; Diane McIntyre, senior public relations manager, Häagen-Dazs ice cream; Heath Schenker, professor of environmental design, UC Davis; Jacob Voit, sustainability manager and construction project manager, Cagwin and Dorward Landscape Contractors; and Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology.
Others who had a key role in the founding and "look" of the garden included 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 self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick. The art in the garden is the work of their students, ranging from those in Entomology 1 class to community residents. Eagle Scout Derek Tully planned, organized and built a state-of-the-art fence around the garden.
The timeline:
Feb. 19, 2008
Häagen-Dazs Donation to UC Davis
Dec. 8, 2008
Häagen-Dazs Launches Bee Garden Design Contest
Aug. 6, 2008
Insect Virus Researcher Michelle Flenniken Named Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis
Feb. 26, 2009
Sausalito Team Wins Design Competition
Aug. 6, 2009
Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Site Preparation
Aug. 13, 2009
Bee Biology Website to Be Launched
Aug. 13, 2009
Thinking Outside the Box
Sept. 15, 2009
Campus Buzzway: Wildflowers
Dec. 15, 2009
Bee Biology Website Lauded
2010
June 6, 2010
Grand Opening Celebration of Honey Bee Garden
July 15, 2010
Art Is Where the Community Is; Blending Science with Art in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven
July 30, 2010
More Than 50 Bee Species Found in Haven: Robbin Thorp (Now there's more than 80 and counting!)
Aug. 25, 2010
Donna Billick: Miss Bee Haven
Aug. 11, 2011
What the Signs Tell Us in the UC Davis Honey Bee Garden
Aug. 24, 2011
Royal Visit to Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility
April 11, 2012
Brian Fishback: Spreading the Word about Honey Bees
Aug. 26, 2013
Eagle Scout Project: Fence Around the Bee Garden
Sept. 11 2012
A Fence to Behold
2013
April 25, 2013
UC Davis Bee Team Wins Major Award
Aug. 1, 2013
Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven Place to Be
With photo of founding volunteers
Biographies
Eric Mussen
Retired Extension apiculturist, who continues his work
Robbin Thorp
Native pollinator specialist and emeritus professor of entomology who monitors the bees in the haven
Donors
List of Donors (2009 through July 2014)
For more information on the garden or to donate, see the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven website.
/span>
![The beginning of the haven. Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen walks the site. This photo was taken Aug. 12, 2009. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) The beginning of the haven. Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen walks the site. This photo was taken Aug. 12, 2009. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/25397.jpg)
![Missy Borel Gable was the first coordinator of the haven. This photo was taken April 10, 2010. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Missy Borel Gable was the first coordinator of the haven. This photo was taken April 10, 2010. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/25398.jpg)
![View of the haven on May 22, 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) View of the haven on May 22, 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/25399.jpg)
![Lynn Kimsey addressing the opening of the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. She founded and coordinated the project. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Lynn Kimsey addressing the opening of the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. She founded and coordinated the project. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/25833.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
All will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., with two exceptions. The open house on Saturday, Feb. 8 during UC Davis Biodiversity Day will be from noon to 4 p.m. On the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, Saturday, April 12, the hours at the Bohart Museum are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Bohart Museum open houses are free and open to the public. The first is on Saturday, Sept. 21 when the theme is “Live from the Bohart!” It will feature how to rear white cabbage flies and other insects.
The schedule of open houses:
Saturday, Sept. 21
Theme: "Live from the Bohart!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23
Theme: "Beauty and Beetles"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 12
Theme: "Snuggle Bugs"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 8
Theme: "Biodiversity Museum Day"
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m.
This event will be held in conjunction with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Herbarium, Botanical Conservatory, Anthropology Collection and Geology and will take place at each of those locations. (All are free and open to the public.)
Sunday, March 2
Theme: "Garden Heroes!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, April 12:
Theme: “UC Davis Picnic Day: 100 Years”
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
Theme: "Moth-er's Day"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday, July 26
Theme: "Arachnids: Awesome or Awful?"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.
New addition:The December Event
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013
Hours: Noon to 3 p.m.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
The insect museum includes a gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, posters, insect nets, books, and other items, that also can be purchased online. Another attraction is the live "petting zoo," complete with Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. Visitors enjoy holding and photographing them.
The museum’s regular public hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Group tours can be arranged with Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and UC Davis holidays.
The Bohart Museum is located near the intersection of La Rue Road and Crocker Lane.
Those who would like to join the Bohart Museum Society, a campus and community support organization dedicated to supporting the mission of the museum, can do so by accessing http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/html/about_society.html.
“You can help support the museum and its educational programs by becoming a member,” Kimsey said. “The Bohart Museum and the Bohart Museum Society are dedicated to teaching, research and public service. Our current growth is financed by memberships and contributions.” Membership and donations directly support the following programs and activities:
Visiting Scientist Program
Each year, two or three short-term fellowships are awarded to systematists to come and study the museum collections.
High School Student Internships
The Society funds summer internships for high school students to learn about insects, curation, collecting and other aspects of entomology.
Associates Program
This program is designed to give special recognition to society members who donate their time and expertise to improving the museum's collections, or through collecting activities.
Benefits of Membership include a subscription to the Bohart Museum Society quarterly newsletter; invitation to “members only” special events and programs, including the Halloween open house; select member discounts on gift shop merchandise; access to the collections, and free information and identification services from staff; and the use of the museum library of entomological books and periodicals.
![A cabbage white butterfly on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A cabbage white butterfly on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/17541.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology’s open house, set from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 9, will inform visitors how to find insects via an inside/outside activity that is free and open to the public.
The event will take place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building and at the side of the building, located on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. This is the last of the open houses for the 2012-13 academic year.
Visitors can try their hand at catching insects with nets and with pan traps. A pan trap is a colored pan filed with water, to which a drop of dish liquid soap is added to break the surface tension and trap the insects.
Another highlight will be how to rear cabbage white butterflies. Many classroom teachers try to rear monarch butterflies, which are more abundant on the East Coast, as is its host plant, milkweed.
To protect the monarchs, scientists are recommending that cabbage whites be used instead. “They are more abundant, easily obtained and easy to rear,” said Tabatha Yang, the Bohart’s education and outreach coordinator. Teachers can easily demonstrate the life cycle of an insect with the cabbage white, she added. Also, summer is a good time for family project investigations. They can witness the transformation of an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to an adult.
Cabbage whites deposit their eggs singly on a variety of plants, including cabbage, broccoli, kale, cauliflower and mustards.
Free pamphlets will be given to visitors, Yang said.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.
Visitors can also hold such live specimens as Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. The gift shop includes t-shirts, jewelry, insect nets, posters and books, including the newly published children’s book, “The Story of the Dogface Butterfly,” written by UC Davis doctoral candidate Fran Keller and illustrated (watercolor and ink) by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. The 35-page book, geared toward kindergarteners through sixth graders, also includes photos by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), Keller said. Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly and the children who helped designate it as the California state insect.
The net proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the education, outreach and research programs of the Bohart Museum. The book can also be ordered online.
Bohart officials schedule weekend open houses throughout the academic year so that families and others who cannot attend on the weekdays can do so on the weekends. The Bohart’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The insect museum is closed to the public on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
For further information, contact Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493.
![Caterpillars, cabbage white butterfly. (Photo by Andrew Richards) Caterpillars, cabbage white butterfly. (Photo by Andrew Richards)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/entomology/blogfiles/16456.jpg)