The Bohart Museum of Entomology will hold an open house focused on arachnids, titled “Eight-Legged Encounters,” from 1 to 4 p.m. on March 15 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building and hallway at UC Davis. The event is free and open to families, with complimentary parking available.
The open house aims to educate visitors about scorpions, tarantulas, whip spiders, trapdoor spiders, jumping spiders, and more. Attendees can participate in hands-on activities such as learning about different types of spider silk and creating their own arachnid models using clay. Co-chairs Emma Jochim, a doctoral candidate in the Jason Bond lab, and Felix Duley, a UC Davis entomology alumnus and museum intern, said that microscopes will be set up for close observation and that visitors can interact with insects from the museum’s petting zoo.
Professor Jason Bond, director of the Bohart Museum and president of the American Arachnological Society, said: “Spider silk is one of the strongest naturally occurring materials. Spider silk is stronger than steel, stronger and more stretchy than Kevlar; a pencil thick strand of spider silk could be used to stop a Boeing 747 in flight.” Jochim added: “My passion for studying spiders comes from how diverse and widespread they are. They are found on every continent except Antarctica and occupy almost every terrestrial niche! I think mygalomorphs are especially cool because of their larger sizes and long life spans–the oldest known trapdoor spider was 40 years old!”
A new feature at the event will be enlarged images of native bees by photographer Krystle Hickman. In addition to arachnids, Jeff Smith and Greg Kareofelas will display butterfly specimens. Visitors can also observe Peaches, a Chilean rose-haired tarantula donated to the museum.
Jochim recently led research published in Evolution and Ecology describing a newly discovered species of trapdoor spider along California’s coastal sand dunes. Bond named this species Aptostichus ramirezae after arachnologist Martina Giselle Ramirez.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources enhances lives statewide by sharing science-based practices according to its official website. The organization maintains nine Research and Extension Centers across diverse ecosystems according to its official website and operates offices in all 58 California counties according to its official website. It applies University of California expertise through research initiatives supporting communities across California according to its official website, offering resources in nutrition, food networks, youth education for over a century according to its official website. Glenda Humiston serves as vice president according to its official website.
For more information about the event or museum programs, interested individuals may visit the Bohart Museum’s website or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.