Posts Tagged: John De Benedictis

If Cinderella Were a Moth...

If Cinderella were a moth, what species would she be? Maybe this tiny, shimmering one. When we spotted this visitor during National Moth Week on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in our pollinator garden, we asked our Bohart Museum of...

This tiny moth, which appears to be a Cadra figulilella, the raisin moth, rests on a petal of a Mexican sunflower in a Vacaville pollinator garden during National Pollinator Week. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This tiny moth, which appears to be a Cadra figulilella, the raisin moth, rests on a petal of a Mexican sunflower in a Vacaville pollinator garden during National Pollinator Week. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, What a (Moth) Night!

Oh, what a (Moth) Night! It was a family night in more ways than one. Families who attended the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night last Saturday, Aug. 3, not only saw  specimens from scores of insect families inside the UC Davis...

Visitors gather at the blacklighting display just outside the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visitors gather at the blacklighting display just outside the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A photograph of entomologist Richard Bohart, for whom the Bohart Museum of Entomology is named, anchors this display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A photograph of entomologist Richard Bohart, for whom the Bohart Museum of Entomology is named, anchors this display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visitors read the display in the Bohart Museum hallway. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visitors read the display in the Bohart Museum hallway. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The youngsters work at coloring and stringing together cocoons for bracelets and necklaces. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The youngsters work at coloring and stringing together cocoons for bracelets and necklaces. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart associate Emma Cluff displays the giant luna moth that she and Kelly Davies created. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart associate Emma Cluff displays the giant luna moth that she and Kelly Davies created. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Richard Peigler, a biology professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, donated the textiles to the Bohart Museum. It is part of its permanent collection. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Richard Peigler, a biology professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, donated the textiles to the Bohart Museum. It is part of its permanent collection. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is a woman's dupatta (shawl) of muga silk handwoven in Assam. It is richly embroidered by hand in traditional Assamese motifs. Moth expert Richard Peigler of San Antonio, Texas, donated this piece and many others to the Bohart Museum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is a woman's dupatta (shawl) of muga silk handwoven in Assam. It is richly embroidered by hand in traditional Assamese motifs. Moth expert Richard Peigler of San Antonio, Texas, donated this piece and many others to the Bohart Museum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Entomologist Jeff Smith (second from left), curator of the Lepidoptera collection, answers questions from the crowd. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Entomologist Jeff Smith (second from left), curator of the Lepidoptera collection, answers questions from the crowd. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ever Seen a Mantidfly?

Ever seen a mantidfly, also called a mantisfly? Bohart Museum of Entomology associate John De Benedictis, aka "Moth Man,"  brought a mantidfly, an insect that's parasitic to spiders, to the museum on Tuesday. He collected it while blacklighting at...

Mantidflies use their front legs to catch small insect prey. This one was collected by John De Benedictis at the UC Davis Stebbens Cold Canyon Reserve. (Snapshot by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mantidflies use their front legs to catch small insect prey. This one was collected by John De Benedictis at the UC Davis Stebbens Cold Canyon Reserve. (Snapshot by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In coloring, the mantidfly abdomen resembles a paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In coloring, the mantidfly abdomen resembles a paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Part of the collection of mantidflies, Climaciella brunnea, at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Part of the collection of mantidflies, Climaciella brunnea, at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum of Entomology associate Wade Spencer holds a drawer of mantidfly specimens. The museum houses some eight million specimens, collected globally. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum of Entomology associate Wade Spencer holds a drawer of mantidfly specimens. The museum houses some eight million specimens, collected globally. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scarab Beetles First to Arrive at UC Davis 'Moth Night'

It was "Moth Night" at the Bohart Museum of Entomology last Saturday night, but three scarab beetles beat the moths to the blacklighting display. The UC Davis event took place from 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 21 in celebration of National Moth...

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology professor Jason Bond examines a scarab beetle at the blacklighting display set up during Moth Night. Bond, a new member of the faculty, is professor of entomology and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in insect systematics. At left is "Moth Man" John De Benedictus, Bohart Museum associate. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology professor Jason Bond examines a scarab beetle at the blacklighting display set up during Moth Night. Bond, a new member of the faculty, is professor of entomology and the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in insect systematics. At left is "Moth Man" John De Benedictus, Bohart Museum associate. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This was the setting in the UC Davis Arboretum for the Bohart Museum's "Moth Night." At right is "Moth Man" John De Benedictis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This was the setting in the UC Davis Arboretum for the Bohart Museum's "Moth Night." At right is "Moth Man" John De Benedictis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the first insect--a scarab beetle--to arrive at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's "Moth Night" blacklighting display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the first insect--a scarab beetle--to arrive at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's "Moth Night" blacklighting display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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