Cute as a June Bug

You never hear anyone say "He's as cute as an earwig."

Or, he's as cute as a "lygus bug."

No. It's "Cute as a June bug," which could be any number of bugs, including the fig beetle (Cotinus mutabilis).

Over at the Bohart Museum of Entomology on the UC Davis campus, you'll see plenty of June bugs at a special open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, June 5. The theme is "June Bugs," and it follows on the heels of "Moth-er's Day," spotlighting moths. Admission is free.

The Bohart Museum, located at 1124 Academic Surge on California Drive, houses more than seven million insect specimens, plus a "living petting zoo" of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks.

The museum also has a gift shop which includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, jewelry and insect candy and the like.

A popular item is a toddler-sized t-shirt with praying mantids all over it, says museum director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis.

That's sure to get folks interested in entomology--or at least talking about bugs!