A pipevine swallowtail in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad
Article

To Catch a Butterfly

  • April 21, 2026
  • By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hannah Petok tossing blue paper butterfly in the Bohart Museum of Entomology netting contest at UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis third-year entomology major Hannah Petok, a Bohart Museum of Entomology intern, tosses a blue paper butterfly at UC Davis Picnic Day during the insect-nettting demonstration at Briggs Hall. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To catch a butterfly....

Keep your eye on the butterfly, step forward, and extend your net. "Ready? Here it comes!"

That was the scene at the Bohart Museum of Entomology insect-netting demonstration at Briggs Hall during the 112th annual UC Davis PIcnic Day on Saturday, April 18. 

Hannah Petok, a Bohart Museum intern and third-year entomology major at UC Davis, showed youngsters and adults alike how to net a butterfly--a blue paper butterfly, that is. 

A stick insect, aka walking stick, crawls up an arm at UC Davis Picnic Day.
A stick insect, aka walking stick, crawls up an arm at UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Attendees also held walking sticks (stick insects), admired the "Oh, My" specimen drawers, and took images of themselves and their friends with the insects. They also captured images of one another "framed"--using a large insect-themed picture frame labeled "UC Davis Picnic Day 2026" and spotlighting the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice) the state insect. It also comprises the Bohart Museum's logo.

Bohart Museum scientists, doctoral candidates and members of the UC Davis Entomology Club were among those staffing the event, said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum. 

UC Davis Entomology Club members Elise (Eli) Piller (foreground) and Camille Stinson greet the crowd.
UC Davis Entomology Club members Elise (Eli) Piller (foreground) and Camille Stinson greet the crowd and answer questions. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's next on the Bohart Museum outreach schedule?

  • Saturday, May 16: 1 to 4 p.m.: "Buzz Words: Insects in Literature."
  • Saturday, July 18: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., "Moth Night"

Both will be held in the Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. All events are free and family friendly. In addition, the Bohart Museum hosts public walk-in hours (free, but parking is not) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Founded in 1946 by UC Davis professor Richard Bohart, the museum is the home of eight million insect specimens, a live petting zoo, and an insect-themed gift shop. The museum's insect collection is the seventh largest collection in North America. Its mission: to understand, document and communicate terrestrial arthropod diversity.  

Director of the Bohart Museum is Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES). 

For more information, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/ or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu. 

Doctoral candidate Cristopher Brothers showing insects to the crowd.
UC Davis doctoral candidate Cristopher Brothers, who researches dragonflies, shows stick insects to the crowd at the Bohart Museum of Entomology display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey).
Bohart Museum retired collections manager Steve Heydon (right) and UC Davis student Jack Mills discuss the "Oh, My" drawers at UC Davis Picnic Day.senior museum scientist emeritus
Bohart Museum retired collections manager Steve Heydon (right) and UC Davis student Jack Mills answer questions about the "Oh, My" specimen drawers at UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug enthusiasts Sam McCullough, Jack Mills and Hannah Petook are framed by a insect-themed frame.
Framed! This large insect-themed frame was quite a hit at the Bohart Museum of Entomology display at Briggs Hall during UC Davis Picnic Day. These three UC Davis tudents helped staff the event. They are Sam McCullough (left), Jack Mills and Hannah Petok. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)