Bugs Are Welcome Guests At 13th Annual UC Davis Picnic Day On Saturday

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

DAVIS, CA --It wouldn't be a picnic without bugs.

They are, you know, everywhere.

However, when the 103rd annual UC Davis Picnic Day takes place Saturday, April 22, you'll find them primarily at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's exhibits at Briggs Hall and at the Bohart Museum of Entomology,

"Show Me the Honey" and "Show Me the Bugs."

Two of the department's exhibits are in the running for special awards at the campuswide Picnic Day. One is “Honey Tasting” at Briggs Hall, and the other is “Bigger, Better, Buglier: Impressive Science” at the Bohart Museum.
“Honey Tasting" will feature a selection of varietal honeys in a display that's the work of Extension apiculturist Elina Niño and colleagues at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Facility.

"We will have the crowd favorites: coffee blossom, sweet meadowfoam, as well as some classics such as orange blossom and blackberry blossom and the 'love-it-or-hate-it' buckwheat honey," Niño said. "This year we will also be featuring our own 2016 crop of UC Davis honey from the apiculture program." The exhibit is one of six competing for awards in the category, "Hunger Fix.”

The Bohart Museum's “Bigger, Better, Buglier: Impressive Science” exhibit is one of six exhibits entered in the category, "Secrets of Nature." The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, is directed by Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis professor of entomology. It's the home of nearly 8 million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and taranatulas), and a year-around gift shop that includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.

Overall, the UC Davis Picnic Day Committee selected 30 special exhibits to compete in five categories: "Best in Show," "Fun with Crafts," "Arts and Humanities," "Hunger Fix" and "Secrets of Nature," said UC Davis Picnic Day exhibits director Helen Xie.

The way it works: Picnic Day attendees vote for their favorite exhibits. Winning exhibits will be featured on social media pages such as Picnic Day website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts after Picnic Day. They will also be featured next year, in preparation for Picnic Day 2018.

The poll will open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. the same day.. All are welcome to vote at https://orgsync.com/51524/forms/258052.

This year's Briggs Hall activities will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Bohart Museum of Entomology will swing open its doors from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Graduate student Brendon Boudinot, chair of the department's Picnic Day Committee, announced these activities at Briggs Hall.
Honey Tasting (You can sample varietals of honey)
Bug Doctor (The doctor is in!)
Cockroach Races (Pick a winner. The event is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Scavenger Hunt (Do you know your insects?)
Dr. Death (Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will answer your questions)
Insect Face Painting (Get a bee, lady beetle or another insect painted on your face)
Little Swimmers and Fly Tying (Watch and identify aquatic insects, a project from the Sharon Lawler lab, and learn "how to tie a fly" from the Fly Fishers of Davis
Maggot Art (Dip a maggot into a water-based, non-toxic paint and create a painting suitable for framing)
UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) (See their many publications and ask questions; youngsters can receive free lady beetles, aka ladybugs. Also planned: pipevine swallowtails)
T-shirt sales by the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association (popular t-shirts include beetles and honey bees)
Social insects, insect forestry, medical entomology, and more

For information on the campuswide Picnic Day, access https://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/

Kathy Keatley Garvey is a communications specialist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

Image via Kathy Keatley Garvey