Spectacular Leaf Insect Latest Addition to Origami Display at Bohart Museum

Close-up of the origami of a leaf insect crafted by UC Davis alumnus Kevin Murakoshi of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Leaf insects, family Phylliidae, resemble leaves as their name implies. They are so well-camouflaged that their predators usually can't distinguish them from leaves.

Murakoshi, who holds a bachelor's degree in computer science (2009) and is a Principal Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services (AWS), recently gifted the leaf insect origami to the Bohart. His previous origami donations include two ticks (one engorged), a bed bug, two monarchs, and two praying mantises. 

You'll see them in the hallway of the Academic Surge Building at 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis, in a display case outside the Bohart Museum.

Origami is the art of folding paper to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. The word origami originates from "oru," Japanese for "to fold" and "kami" (paper).

UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, who retired Feb. 1 as director of the Bohart Museum after 34 years of service,  earlier accepted the gifts during Bohart Museum open houses. Kimsey features them in her Bohart Museum Society newsletter (she's the executive director of the Society and writes and publishes the quarterly newsletter). Her fall newsletter was her 100th publication. (Subscribe here)

The Bohart Museum's last open house of the year,  themed "Specialized Predators of Insects,"  is set for Saturday, Nov. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m.  Featured will be two doctoral candidates who study predators: Christofer Brothers of the Stacey Combs lab and Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab. Brothers, who researches dragonflies and Jochim, arachnids, will present talks from 1 to 1:30 p.m. in the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology classroom (next door to the Bohart Museum). Visitors will then gather in the Bohart Museum for more activities from 1:30 to 4 p.m.  

"There will be live arachnid feedings on the hour, hands-on activities, and carnivorous plants for sale," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. 

The open houses are free and family friendly, and parking is also free.

Can you visit the Bohart Museum at other times? Yes. Free public walk-ins take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m.  See more on the website or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu for more information.

The Bohart Museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building. It houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo (including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas) and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with t-shirts, hoodies, books, jewelry, posters, stuffed toy animals, collecting equipment and more.

Bohart Museum director is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.