For the Love of Insects

How many kids have you seen running and screaming every time they encounter an insect?

Maybe not so much when it's a lady beetle (aka ladybug), or a butterfly.

But Madagascar hissing cockroaches and stick insects sometimes get many a "yecch" before they get a definite "yay!" 

Scientists at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis mean to change all that. Their open houses are free and family friendly. At their Sept. 28th open house, themed "Museum Fundamentals 101" or "Museum ABCs: Arthropods, Bohart and Collecting," the scientists fed the curiosity of  kids and adults alike. The event drew some 300 visitors, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. 

The participants were introduced to how to collect, pin, identify and label insects. The children especially delighted in examining specimens under a microscope, and watching stick insects in the live petting zoo crawl up their arms.

A beaming Thea Schmidt, 4, of Folsom wore a butterfly dress that featured the striking Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus.

Elliot Sauder, 7, of Sacramento, a longtime lover of all things bugs, wore an equally striking T-shirt printed with "Giant Stag Beetle, Lucanus elaphus," and an image of the beetle.

Elliot shared a microscope with his sister, Sutton, 9, as their mother, Dr. Candice Sauder, a UC Davis Health surgeon, watched. "Elliot has loved bugs since he was 3 when he wanted to be a bug vet," she said.

UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College, a UC Davis entomology lecturer, and a Bohart research associate, said it well when she discussed the importance of insect museums:

"The Bohart insect library collection is priceless and provides a look into the ecosystems of the past while also providing an example of how habitat loss reduces or potentially wipes out the insect diversity in an area. Insect museum collections are just as important and valuable as history and art collections, but instead of cultural history, they document the natural history of not only our backyards, but also the natural history of our planet. Insects play an important role in every habitat."

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946 by UC Davis professor Richard "Doc" Bohart (2013-2007), houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. In addition to the petting zoo, it includes an insect-themed gift shop stocked with t-shirts, hoodies, books, posters and jewelry, among other items.

Bohart served as its first director. The second: His former graduate student Lynn Kimsey, now UC Davis distinguished professor emerita. She directed the museum from 1999 to Feb. 1, 2024 when the new director Professor Jason Bond, took the reins. He is 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.  

The next open house, themed "Specialized Predators of Insects," is set from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2.  Featured will be two doctoral students who study predators: Christofer Brothers of the Stacey Combs lab, who researches dragonflies, and Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab, arachnids. They will present talks from 1 to 1:30 p.m. in a 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.

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.