The right way to ‘Bee My Valentine’: Let’s Assist Out the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day – Bug Squad

A “Bee My Valentine” second on a flowering quince. (Picture by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

You’ll be able to “Bee My Valentine” today–and all through the month of February–by contributing to the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.

What’s the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

It is a free, open-to-the-public, science-based day that yearly takes place the Saturday of Presidents’ Day weekend and showcases practically a dozen museums or collections. It is a possibility for campus guests to see displays and shows at varied factors on campus and converse with the scientists.

This yr is the eleventh annual. Nevertheless, attributable to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and UC Davis insurance policies, the 2022 Biodiversity Museum Day might be held at one site–the UC Davis Convention Middle, 550 Alumni Lane–and might be from 11 a.m. to three p.m., Sunday, March 6. What’s additionally completely different? It is geared for undergraduates and different members of the UC Davis group as a substitute of most of the people from surrounding counties. (Most people can stay up for the UC Davis Picnic Day on April 23, 2022 when lots of the identical museums and collections are scheduled to be featured.)

Collaborating collections on the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day embrace, however will not be restricted to, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Arboretum and Public Backyard, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, California Raptor Middle, Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Middle for Plant Variety, Nematode Collections, and Division of Anthropology Museum.

On the March sixth occasion, COVID tips for UC Davis, Yolo County and the state of California–including acceptable masks sporting, UC Davis symptom surveys, vaccination data or destructive COVID tests–will be adopted.

However again to “bee my valentine.”

Honey bees are an integral to a minimum of three of the museums/collections:

The Bohart Museum of Entomology, a part of the UC Davis Division of Entomology andNematology, homes a worldwide assortment of eight million insect specimens, together with honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees and extra. The insect museum is situated in Room 1124 of the Tutorial Surge Constructing on Crocker Lane, however it’s presently closed to the general public attributable to COVID pandemic.

The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee backyard operated by the UC Davis Division of Entomology andNematology, is situated subsequent to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Analysis Facility on Bee Biology Street, west of the central campus. The late Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, recorded greater than 80 species of bees right here.

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Backyard is a 100-acre website that is the pleasure and pleasure of the campus group. It is frequented by nature lovers, walkers, hikers and bicyclists, amongst others–and bees! The 100-acre website additionally boasts the a lot applauded 100 Arboretum All-Stars.

How are you going to assist the bees in addition to different fauna and the flora related to UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

A UC Davis Crowdfunding Challenge is underway till 11:59 p.m., Feb. 28. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, mentioned undertaking managers Tabatha Yang, training and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis, a GATEways horticulturist and museum scientist on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Backyard.

“Donations is not going to solely assist us maintain the free, in-person occasion, it’s going to allow our scholar interns to take science outreach to an entire new stage,” they mentioned. “The objective of our occasion is to attach individuals from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors might be acknowledged on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out put up.”

Any quantity is appreciated: $5 will get you into the Implausible Yeasts class; $10, the Sprout (Valley Oaks) class; $25, the Bumble Bee class; and $50, the Jeweled Spider Fly class. Different classes embrace Atlati, California Condor, and Smilodon. The objective: $5000.

Key bills embrace:

Volunteer assist ($2000)

Occasion leases ($1500)

Occasion supplies ($1500)

To donate, entry https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. You could be nameless in title or contribution, or you’ll be able to have your title listed on the donor wall in honor of somebody, or in reminiscence of somebody.

Or you’ll be able to simply say “Bee my Valentine.”