Boo! Hiss! Boo!
A melodrama?
No! A pre-Halloween party at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of Caliornia, Davis.
Witches boo, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches (from the Bohart Museum's petting zoo) hiss.
If you're a member of the Bohart Museum Society, arm of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, you'll hear lots of sounds at its annual Halloween celebration. As members mingle, witches "boo," and the "hissers" hiss, it makes for a great event.
Bohart associate Dick Meyer and his wife, Shawn, traveled from their home in Bakerfield to attend the party. Meyer studied with noted entomologist Richard "Doc" Bohart (1913-2007), a longtime professor at UC Davis and for whom the insect museum is named. A retired public health entomologist known as "The Mosquito Guy," Meyer retired as assistant manager of the Orange County Vector Control Agency.
UC Davis Distingished Professor Emerita Lynn Kimsey, who retired Feb. 2, 2024 as the 34-year director of the museum, also studied with Doc Bohart, receiving her doctorate in 1979. A double alumna, she obtained her bachelor's degree in entomology in 1976, She served as a research associate at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University before joining the UC Davis faculty in 1989.
Althugh retired, she continues to head the Bohart Museum Society, write its newsletter and do research and public service.
At the Halloween party, she caught up on entomological news with Meyer. Interestingly enough, they both wore their Australian hats, purchased on trips to "Down Under."
Bohart Museum research associate Fran Keller, a UC Davis doctoral alumna who studied with Kimsey, her major professor, helped host the event. Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College and now also a lecturer in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, cut the spider-themed cake with Kimsey and Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum's education and outreach coordinator.
You would not have recognized Tabatha Yang. She dressed as the red-wigged Mrs. Roper (Audra Lindley who played Helen Roper on "Three’s Company").
Unfortunately, Bohart Museum director ason Bond (whose multiple hats include Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and executive associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and president of the American Arachnological Society, was unable to attend (doing research in Africa).
But he did attend in absentia. The Bohart scientists simply placed his framed picture next to the cake and gave him the slice with the frosted spider. Is this called "Have your cake but don't eat it, too?"
UC Davis alumna Julianna Campos wore an unusual costume. She dressed as the character, Kagetane Hiruko, from the anime series Black Butler. "It’s not a super popular anime but I enjoyed it personally," Campos said. "He’s one of the main antagonists and later helps out the good guys although is never really good himself. I just like the character because of the outfit and the mask really, I usually wear costumes with masks, like last time with the plague doctor." Campos seeks to become a physician.
Reminiscent of a moth to a flame, UC Davis entomology alumnus Felix Duley came as a moth, and his partner, Nico Lauer, as a lampshade. Duley aims to obtain his doctorate in entomology.
Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, who retired last year as a lecturer in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, wore his traditional ghillie suit as he served beverages to the crowd. Drinks taste better when served by a guy in a ghillie suit!
How to Join the Bohart Museum Society
Interested in joining the Bohart Museum Society? Membership is open to all interested persons. Membership rates are $25 per year for an individual; $15 for students; $40 for family; and $100 for patron. There is also the endowment level (any amount accepted),
The benefits of membership include:
- Subscription to the Bohart Museum Society newsletter, "mailed to you quarterly, as well as the electronic news emailed to you periodically," Lynn Kimsey relates.
- Invitation to special events, such as the Halloween Open house
- Member discounts on gift shop merchandise
- Access to the collections, and free information and identification services from staff
- Museum library use
There's also a "donate" button on the Bohart Museum Society website.
The Bohart Museum, home of a global collection of eight million insect specimens, is located in Room 1124 of Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It also maintains a live petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, taranatulas and more) and an insect-themed gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, jewelry, stuffed toy animals (insects and spiders) and insect collecting equipment.
The Bohart Museum periodically hosts open houses, free and open to the public, throughout the academic year. The next one is "Bees and Their Mimics" from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15.
