April 9, 2009 What is entomology? (Download PDF, Picnic Day handout)
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| Yao Hua Law (third from left) coordinates the cockroach races. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
DAVIS—Run, roaches, run!
When the UC Davis Department of Entomology at Briggs Hall participates in the campuswide Picnic Day on Saturday, April 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., cockroaches will be there in full force.
So will thousands of people. “We annually average 3000 in and out the door, even when it rains,” said forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, who chairs the department’s annual Picnic Day activities.
Camels, dogs, pigeons, ostriches and pigs race. Why not cockroaches?
“There are always mixed reactions from the crowd, but roach racing never fails to hold their attention,” said entomology graduate student Yao Hua Law, who coordinates the roach races.
“Some people, particularly the kids, are always excited and often prove to be the most ardent fans,” Law said. “Others watch only from a safe distance—although 'safe' can be deceptive because occasionally an overly pumped up cockroach escapes from the tracks and if we fail to catch it, it scurries into the crowd.” Waves of screams and laughter often follow, Law said. “Surprisingly nobody steps on the runaway roach.”
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| Bob Kimsey, chair of the Department of Entomology's Picnic Day events, in head gear. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
The roach track, less than 1.5 yards in length, is modeled after a 100-meter sprint. Two walled tracks, one yellow and one blue, include a starting chamber and a finish line. “Before the race, we ask someone to pick a tag of either blue or yellow to prove their support. One of us counts down from 3-2-1 and lifts the gates and the race begins. An entomology team member with an open paper bag catches the racing roaches as they cross the line.
Supporters of the winning cockroach come forth and receive their prizes-- usually a sticker or some form of economic entomological prize, he said.
Where do the roaches originate? “We rear the cockroaches ourselves,” Law said. “This is the American cockroach, (Periplaneta americana), though their origins aren't American. Of course we do receive batches of adults from other sources (Kimsey's friend, Bruce Badzik in the National Park Service) to reinvigorate our colony from time to time.”
Said Kimsey: “The ever so popular cockroach races will be greatly enhanced this year with renovated racing tracks and competition between different cockroach species.”
The department is also planning Maggot Art, honey sampling, termite and ant nest displays, an exhibit of insect trapping devices, a Bug Doctor booth, a bee friendly garden display, mosquito and vector control information booth, a forest industry booth, an aquatic insect display, a fly-tying booth and a forensic entomology display.
“The forensic entomology display dispels much of the Hollywood-fabricated illusions about what real CSI is all about,” Kimsey said.
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| Someone scrawled this on the blackboard in 122 Briggs Hall last year. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
Also this year, the winning design in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven garden will be displayed. A Sausalito-based team created the winning design, which will be implemented this year on the grounds at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. The public dedication is planned for October.
Also new this year and in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service will be a large display about forest management, forest insects, disease transmission by insects and efforts in restoring damaged forest, Kimsey said.
Another part of the entomology department’s activities occurs at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at Academic Surge. The Bohart is home to more than seven million insect specimens from throughout the world. The museum also will show live specimens, including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Vietnamese walking sticks and tarantulas.
Maggot Art Back for the Seventh Consecutive Year
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| This is an example of Maggot Art created in one of Rebecca O'Flaherty's classrooms. Click to enlarge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
Maggot Art will be featured at the UC Davis Picnic Day for the seventh consecutive year.
Forensic entomologist Rebecca O’Flaherty, a doctoral candidate in entomology, will be there with her “Maggot Art” event.
She’ll provide the maggots, non-toxic paint, and paper. Participants will pick up a maggot with specially designed larval forceps, dip it in non-toxic, water based paint, place it on white paper, and let the maggot do its thing--which is to crawl across the paper.
Voila! Maggot Art.
It’s one-of-a-kind art suitable for framing or posting on the refrigerator.
Maggot Art is actually the educational teaching curriculum that O'Flaherty coined and trademarked in 2001 while she was studying entomology at the University of Hawaii. She launched Maggot Art as a community outreach project to teach youths about the fascinating world of insects.
Since 2001, she’s taught thousands of students the “art of Maggot Art” in the classroom, while also providing information about blow flies. She's a skilled Maggot Art artist herself. In 2007, she coordinated a Maggot Art Show at the Capital Athletic Club, Sacramento, with colleagues and fellow artists Brandi Schmitt and Charlotte Wacker. |
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
