Picnic Day: Meet the Co-Chairs of the ENT Committee and See the Activities They're Planning

What's a picnic without bugs?

The 110th annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day takes place Saturday, April 20 and lots of entomological activities are planned.

Meet the co-chairs of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology Picnic Day Committee and check out the events.

The doctoral student co-chair is Grace Horne of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA).

The faculty co-chair is Robert "Bob" Kimsey, forensic entomologist.

This year, all of the entomology exhibits, including those at the Bohart Museum of Entomology,  will be at Briggs Hall. (The Bohart Museum headquarters in the Academic Surge Building will be closed on Picnic Day.) Most displays and activities are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Bohart Museum's pop-up tent will be open from noon to 4 p.m.

Grace Horne, Co-Chair of Picnic Day Committee 
Horne, who joined the graduate program in 2021, studies with urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, assistant professor. She is a 2021 graduate of Colby College, Waterville, ME, where she received her bachelor's degree in biology and environmental science, magna cum laude. Her thesis: "Reduced Performance of Ash-Specialist Caterpillars on Non-Native, Cultivated Oleaceous Plants.”

"I study plant-insect interactions using long-term data—primarily expert-collected observations and natural history collections," Horne said. "Currently, I am investigating how moth populations in Davis and Stebbins Cold Canyon have changed over the past 30 or so years using data collected by John de Benedictis of the Bohart Museum of Entomology." 

Skilled in exhibit and outreach programs, Horne is an alumna of The Caterpillar Lab in Marlborough, NH.  "At The Caterpillar Lab, we brought together caterpillars and their host plants to teach about species interactions, conservation, and ecology," Horne said. "Our work brought us to museums, libraries, 4th grade classrooms, farmers' markets, etc. This provided a throughline for me to organize the UC Davis entomology exhibits at Picnic Day. I cherish the opportunity to participate in an event that is enjoyed by so many Davis residents and beyond!"

Bob Kimsey, Co-Chair of Picnic Day Committee
Kimsey wears a number of hats. He's an assistant adjunct professor and master advisor of the Animal Biology major as well as the faculty chair of the department's Picnic Day. He's also the advisor to the UC Davis Entomology Club and that has included guiding students to such venues as Alcatraz Island to see the flies and other insects. (See The Fly Man of Alcatraz)

Known as an outstanding teacher, advisor and mentor, Kimsey won the 2020 top faculty academic advising award from the international NACADA, the “global community for academic advising.”  Kimsey is also a 2019 winner of a faculty advising award from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Eleanor and Harry Walker Advising Awards. He previously won the UC Davis Outstanding Faculty Advising Award, and the Distinction in Student Mentoring Award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America.  Kimsey plans to retire in June.

3000 Attendees
The ENT exhibits at the UC Davis Picnic Day usually draw some 3000 attendees. "This year, we have about 25 student and junior specialist volunteers running our events from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.," Horne said. "Our popular events—maggot art and cockroach racing—will return this year, although maggot art will take our last artist at 3 p.m. rather than the usual 5 p.m."  

'Glowing Bugs'
New to the exhibit line-up is the “I IUV Bugs," an exhibit about plant-insect interactions under ultraviolet light. The "glowing bugs exhibit" is the brainchild of Horne and primarily designed by the Meineke lab, "especially (doctoral student) Marielle Hansel Friedman," Horne said.  "We will have plants from the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery and local/pet-trade arthropods which glow under ultraviolet light. With this exhibit, we seek to highlight the interplay between light, color, and species interactions." Other contributors to this exhibit are doctoral students Gary Ge of the Louie Yang lab and Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab.

Doctoral student Veronica Casey of the Shahid Siddique lab designed the new nematode exhibit. Carla-Cristina "CC" Melo Edwards of the Geoffrey Attardo lab is coordinating the new medical entomology display. "The bumble bee observation hive is unfortunately not ready for the spotlight this year," Horne said.

"I also want to highlight all the efforts that Em Jochim (Bond Lab), Iris Quayle (Bond Lab), and Nicole Rodrigues (Attardo Lab) have contributed to make Picnic Day a success. Without them, there’s no way we could pull this off."

List of Events and Activities

The list of events and activities in and around Briggs Hall will include:

Bug Doctor
Briggs Hall Entryway
Graduate students will answer questions about insects. What's that bug? Attendees are encouraged to bring an insect or photo for identification.

Cockroach Races
Front of Briggs Hall 
American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, from Bob Kimsey's forensic lab, race on a specially made track, while roach fans cheer for their favorites. (Sometimes the athletes are named for faculty, friends or bystanders.)

Medical Entomology
122 Briggs Hall
Carla-Cristina "CC" Melo Edwards of the Geoffrey Attardo lab is coordinating the medical entomology display. Her research focuses on investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito). 

Diversity of Arachnids
122 Briggs Hall
Doctoral student Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab is coordinating an exhibit she created last year to display the diversity of arachnids, such as vinegaroons, whip spiders, tarantulas, and scorpions. "We’ll have live animals and fact sheets that will give a general overview of their diversity, behavior, and habitat," Jochim said. "I’ll also bring some curated specimens to show what goes into creating a scientific collection and talk about why collections are important for understanding biodiversity. "

Maggot Art
Briggs Courtyard 
Artists--children and adults alike--create maggot art by dipping a live maggot into water-based, non-toxic paint. It's suitable for framing (or at least a spot on the refrigerator door). Rebecca O'Flaherty, a former graduate student of Bob Kimsey's, coined the educational teaching curriculum,  "Maggot Art," back in 2001 when she was studying at the University of Hawaii. She was rearing blowflies for her forensic research and wanted an activity to draw the interest of elementary school students.  She also wanted to generate interest and respect for forensic entomology. Her Maggot Art quickly drew national interest. The CSI television show featured one of her works, “Ancient Offering,”  which hung on the permanent set in Gil Grissom's office. O'Flaherty also exhibited her work at art shows, including a two-month exhibition at the Capital Athletic Club, Sacramento, in 2007.

Dr. Death
122 Briggs Hall
Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will display and discuss his work in his "Dr. Death" booth. Last year Kimsey pin-mounted and identified flies from various cases and research efforts, and displayed studies on the sequence of development of individual maggots, calling attention to the development and sequence of communities of insect maggots.  "By these means, approximations about how long a person has been dead can be made," he told the crowd. He also discussed recently adjudicated cases. 

Entomology at UC Davis
122 Briggs Hall
Displays of insects, including bees, ants and more. Graduate students, faculty and emeriti will staff the tables. 

Bohart Museum of Entomology
Front of Briggs Hall
A pop-up tent, staffed by the Bohart Museum, will include stick insects (walking sticks) and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. "We are excited to be part of the bigger department's offerings," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.  Give-aways are also planned.

Fly-Tying
Briggs Hall courtyard
Fly Fishers of Davis will show attendees how to tie a fly. The recipients take home the flies. 

Insect-Themed T-Shirt Sales
Briggs Hall entryway
Members of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA), led by president Mia Lippey, will be selling their popular insect-themed t-shirts, including The Beetles.  The T-shirt, EGSA's all-time best seller, is a take-off of the cover of The Beetles' Abbey Road alum. However, instead of the Beatles--John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Star-- crossing the road in a single file, four beetles (family names Phengogidae, Curculionidae, Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae) do so.  Other popular T-shirts include Entomo Gothic (a play on the American Gothic), Whip Scorpion, Bee Haw, and They See Me Rollin' (dung beetles).

Mosquito Control Booth
Entrance to Briggs (below front steps)
Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will be providing information on mosquitoes, answering questions, and offering give-a-ways. 

UC  Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) 
Briggs Hall Courtyard
“We plan to have many of our usual materials on display and will be giving out the live lady beetles (aka ladybugs) again,” said urban and community IPM educator Lauren Fordyce. “We purchase them from a local garden center. In addition to that, we plan to have a prize wheel that adults and kids can spin, answer a question, and win a prize if they answer correctly. We may also have temporary insect tattoos to give away.”

Ranked Third in the Country. The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is ranked third among  “The Best Entomology Colleges in the United States for 2024" by universities.com.  The department includes 24 active and 19 retired faculty;  28 graduate students (five in the master’s degree program and 23 in the doctoral degree program); 47 undergraduate entomology majors (based on the Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS)  Student Reports); and a staff comprised of 27 academics (non-faculty), 24 career, and 56 student assistants.