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| Urania leilu at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Click to enlarge. |
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| Chrysiridia rhipheus at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Click to enlarge. |
DAVIS--Mothers will celebrate their special day on Sunday, May 8, but it’s “Moth-er’s Day” on Saturday, May 7 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology on the UC Davis campus.
The Bohart Museum, home to more than seven million insects, will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. May 7. Admission is free. The museum is located in 1124 Academic Surge on California Drive.'
Visitors can check out such moths as Urania leilu, and Chrysiridia rhipheus—“two moths that that will challenge people's notions of what a moth is,” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum.
“We will also have our new public microscope on display for people to use and to see the scales on the wings that define the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies),” Yang said.
In addition, the Bohart Museum features a live “petting zoo” that includes Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks; and a gift shop where visitors can purchase such items as t-shirts, sweat shirts, posters, jewelry and insect candy.
To accommodate families and other area residents who are unable to attend the regular visiting hours, Mondays through Thursdays, the Bohart began offering special weekend hours last year.
The last of the special weekend hours this season will be on Sunday, June 5, when the Bohart celebrates “June Bugs” from 1 to 4 p.m. The first weekend opening of the year was Jan. 23 and featured the theme, "Butterflies."
The R. M. Bohart Museum of Entomology, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, was founded in 1946 by noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart. Dedicated to teaching, research and service, it houses the seventh largest insect collection in North America.
The museum holds specimens collected worldwide and is the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity of California’s deserts, mountains, coast and great central valley.
The museum’s regular hours are from 8:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It is closed on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
More information is available on the Bohart website or by contacting Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-9464. Due to limited space, group tours will not be booked during the weekend hours.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
