Bohart Museum Open House: Hopping with Poison Dart Frogs

UC Davis neurobiologist and animal behaviorist Eva Fischer answers a question about poison dart frog parenting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"What are vertebrates doing here in an insect museum?" Fischer asked the crowd. "Because they eat insects. That's why they're here. The poison dart frogs eat spicy ants and other tropical insects. In the wild, they're toxic. In captivity they are non-toxic. Does anyone know why?"

"It's their diet that makes them toxic," she said. In her lab, they are fed fruit flies. 

Fischer, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences, said she has some 400 poison dart frogs in her research lab.

Fischer, joined by postdoctoral fellow Melina Acosta and lab manager Cameron Badger, "aka fairy frog parent," answered questions about dyeing poison dart frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) for several hours, totally captivating the hundreds of attendees.

In addition to the live frogs, the scientists displayed D. tinctorius tadpoles.

A poster related that the range of the dyeing poison dart frogs stretches from French Guiana to Northwestern Brazil; that they are known for their bright colors, warning predators that they are toxic; and that the males, "the dads, typically do all the care, but mom will step in if needed."

A family arts-and-crafts activity featured three drawings of the poison frogs for all to color, or to take home to do.    Each drawing featured a Fun Fact.

Ready to greet the crowd are (from left) Cameron Badger, lab manager of the Eva Fischer lab; postdoctoral fellow Melina Acosta; and assistant professor Eva Fischer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Fun Fact on the Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator) page: "The males of many poison frogs, including mimic poison frogs--carry their tadpoles on their backs to pools of water where they transform into frogs!"

The Fun Fact on the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis) page: "Poison frogs get their toxins from their diets in the wild. The golden poison frog is the most toxic land vertebrate in the world!" It is also known as the golden dart frog or golden poison arrow frog.

The Fun Fact on the Poison Frog Metamorph page:  "As tadpoles turn into frogs--a process called metamorphosis--their mouths temporarily grow shut and they get nutrients from reabsorbing their tail."

Theme of the Bohart Museum open house was "Poisonous vs. Venomous." While the Fischer lab showcased poison dart frogs,  Bohart scientists discussed spiders, monarchs and robber flies. (More images pending).

The Bohart Museum of Entomology, founded in 1946, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis. It houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo, including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and tarantulas; and a gift shop stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, jewelry, and insect-collecting equipment.

Director of the Bohart Museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.