Associate professor Rachel Vannette (left) and junior specialist Leta Landucci of the Vannette lab talk to attendees at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) — Community ecologist and associate professor Rachel Vannette (left), vice chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and junior specialist Leta Landucci of the Vannette lab talk to attendees at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Big Bee Bash at the Bohart

More than 300 Attend Bohart Museum of Entomology Open House

by Kathy Keatley Garvey
May 24, 2024

Junior specialist Leta Landucci of the Rachel Vannette lab answers a question about a bumble bee nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It was a day to meet UC Davis bee researchers and learn about the lives of bees when the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosted an open house featuring wild bees and managed bees.

More than 300 attended the May 19th event, noted Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. They included residents of Yolo, Marin, Solano and Sacramento counties.

Community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and three lab members--doctoral candidate Lexie Martin, doctoral student Dino Sbardellati, and junior specialist Leta Landucci--displayed nests of bumble bees, carpenter bees and solitary bees. They also invited visitors to examine live bee larvae under a microscope and engage in the interactive displays on the bee life cycle.

Others bee researchers participating:

Doctoral student Dino Sbardellati of the Rachel Vannette lab helped visitors make a bouque tof paper flowers. — Doctoral student Dino Sbardellati of the Rachel Vannette lab helps visitors craft a bouquet of paper flowers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum bee scientists Thomas Zavortink and Sandy Shanks
UC Davis graduate student Richard Martinez of the lab of apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. He staffed the honey bee booth and answered questions about bees and beekeeping. He also displayed a bee observation hive (attendees eagerly tried to find the queen). Children and adults alike tried on the beekeeping suits and veils. He also discussed the apiary equipment, including a smoker and hive tools.
Doctoral student Sofía Meléndez Cartagena of the Stacey Combes lab, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. She studies the diversity of bees and bee behavior.
Doctoral student Peter Coggan of the laboratory of Chancellor's Fellow Santiago Ramirez, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology. Coggan studies the neurological and genetic basis of orchid bee courtship behavior and evolution.

Doctoral student Peter Coggan of the Santiago Ramirez lab answers qustions about orchid bees. He studies the neurological and genetic basis of orchid bee courtship behavior and evolution. — Doctoral student Peter Coggan of the laboratory of Santiago Ramirez, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, answers questions about orchid bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sofía Meléndez Cartagena — Doctoral student Sofía Meléndez Cartagena of the Stacey Combes lab, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior

Brownie Troop 121 of Davis, led by co-leaders Dr. Jaclyn Watkins and Mel McClendon, attended. "We thought the event was fantastic!" said Watkins, associate professor of clinical pathology and residency program director, Department of Pathology and Laboratory. "Our girls also earned their Brownie Bug badge by attending. They had a blast."

Bee specimens displayed ranged from honey bees and carpenter bees, to bumble bees and orchid bees, to leafcutter bees and sweat bees. Visitors also perused a number of bee books, including the newly published Honey Bee Biology, authored by Brian Johnson, associate professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology; and Calfornia Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists, published in 2014 and co-authored by Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), distinguished emeritus professor.

California is home to more than 1600 species of undomesticated bees, most of them native, according to Thorp.

The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insects, plus a live petting zoo, and a gift shop. Professor Jason Bond directs the museum, succeeding Kimsey, who served 34 years until her retirement on Feb. 1. Bond is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He also serves as president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.

The next open houses are set for

Saturday, July 20: "Moth Night at the Museum," 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28: "Museum ABCs: Arthropods Bohart, and Collecting," 1 to 4:30 p.m.

Richard Martinez discussing honey bees. — Master's student Richard Martinez of the lab of apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, displays a bee observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All open houses are free and family friendly; parking is also free on weekends.

Summer public walk-in hours are on Tuesdays, June 17-Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum will be closed to the general public from Sept. 1-22.

For more information, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.