Santa Shops at the Bohart!

News flash: Santa shops at the Bohart Museum of Entomology gift shop at UC Davis.

Yes, he does.

The jolly ol' gent wants to assure that no one has a "silent night," not with all the insect-themed gifts there: jewelry such as bee and monarch pins and beetle wing earrings; books for children and adults; note cards; T-shirts and hoodies; stuffed toy animals; posters showcasing dragonflies and California state insect, the dogface butterfly, coffee cups with the dogface butterfly motif; stickers;  insect snacks; and hand-turned lathed pens by entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart.

One of the children's books is "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," authored in 2013 by entomologist Fran Keller,  a professor at Folsom Lake College, a Bohart Museum research scientist, and a UC Davis doctoral alumna.

The 35-page book features images by Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas and Keller, and illustrations by then UC Davis student Laine Bauer.

Found only in California, the rarely seen butterfly is also known as  (1) "the flying pansy," referring to the male's spectacular black and yellow coloring, and (2) as a "dog head" butterfly (the markings on the male resemble a silhouette of a dog's head). The female is mostly solid yellow. The butterfly's major breeding ground is in Auburn in the Shutamul Bear River Preserve maintained by the Placer Land Trust (PLT). 

A fourth-grade class in Fresno led the effort to have the butterfly named the state insect. Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on July 28, 1972.

Net proceeds from the Bohart Museum gift shop benefit its education, outreach and research programs. Purchases can be made during the regular hours. 

The insect museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, is open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday (except on holidays). It will be closed for the winter break from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1. 

The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens. It is also the home of a live petting zoo, which includes Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects (aka walking sticks) and tarantulas. 

UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, a UC Davis doctoral alumna, has directed the Bohart Museum since 1990. Her major professor, Richard Bohart (1913-2007) founded the insect museum in 1946. 

For more information contact, the Bohart Museum at bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or access its website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu.