A Case of Identity Theft

Just call it a case of identity theft at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

But wait! Before you ask "Is everything okay?" and suggest contacting law enforcement immediately, not to worry. This is a different case of identity theft.

Insects! Camouflaged insects!

Take the walking stick. This insect looks so much like a twig, that you not only THINK it's a twig, you KNOW it is. 

Question: Is the insect masquerading as a twig or is the twig masquerading as an insect?

You can learn about insect camouflage if you attend the Bohart Museum's open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, March 10. The theme:  "Hide 'n' Seek: Insect Camouflage."  The event is free and open to the public. The site: Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on California Drive, UC Davis campus. 

"We will have specimens from the collection like leafy katydids and bark-like moths and butterflies with clear wings," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator at the Bohart Museum.

"There will be live walking sticks to hold and touch," Yang said. And, she said, visitors will "have a chance to make some stick insects from pipe cleaners that they can take and hide around their homes."

The walking stick (below is a Great Thin Stick Insect (Ramulus nematodes). Said Yang: "We like to call them Avatar Stick Insects, because the males are long, skinny and blue."

Staff and students will be on hand to answer questions.

The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis professor of entomology, and founded in 1946 by her major professor, Richard Bohart (1913-2007), houses a global collection of more than seven million insect specimens, the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of insect biodiversity. 

If you should miss the March open house, there are three more this academic year: 

Saturday, April 21: 10 to 3 p.m., UC Davis Picnic Day

Saturday, May 12, 1 to 4 p.m., “Pre-Moth’ers Day”

Sunday, June 3, 1 to 4 p.m., “Bug Light, Bug Bright…First Bug I See Tonight.”

Regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. The museum 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) 752-0493. Due to limited space, group tours will not be booked during the weekend hours.