Learn about fascinating insect world at Bohart Museum open house
A visit to the Bohart Museum often starts with Tabatha Yang, the museum's education and outreach coordinator, explaining why scientists and others study insects. (Also, insects are cool!) Kathy Morrison
What’s bugging you – and your garden? How can you tell the good guys from the bad guys in the insect world? Why should we be more considerate of teeny tiny wildlife?
Find out Saturday, Jan. 11, during the Winter Open House at the Bohart Museum of Entomology on the UC Davis campus.
From 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, the museum invites visitors of all ages to explore the fascinating insect world. Admission and parking are free; no advance registration required.
“From the beautiful to the strange, the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology has one of the largest insect collections in North America,” says the museum’s webpage.
That includes more than 8 million “pinned” specimens plus many more preserved in alcohol. The assortment of butterflies and moths alone is astounding. The beetles (including several metallic looking species) are dazzling. In addition, some species are on live display.
The museum is primarily for researchers studying insects. Its collection is also used in determining species – and discovering new ones.
A visit to this very buggy place is eye-popping – especially for kids – but all visitors can learn a lot.
Located on the south side of campus, the Bohart Museum is located in UCD’s Academic Surge Building, Room 1124, 455 Crocker Lane, Davis.
Details and directions: https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/
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Garden Checklist for week of Jan. 12
Once the winds die down, it’s good winter gardening weather with plenty to do:
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees. (The exceptions are apricot and cherry trees, which are susceptible to a fungus that causes dieback. Save them until summer.) Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* After the wind stops, apply horticultural oil to fruit trees to control scale, mites and aphids. Oils need 24 hours of dry weather after application to be effective.
* This is also the time to spray a copper-based fungicide to peach and nectarine trees to fight leaf curl. (The safest effective fungicides available for backyard trees are copper soap -- aka copper octanoate -- or copper ammonium, a fixed copper fungicide. Apply either of these copper products with 1% horticultural oil to increase effectiveness.)
* When forced bulbs sprout, move them to a cool, bright window. Give them a quarter turn each day so the stems will grow straight.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
* Plant bare-root roses, trees and shrubs.
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladioli for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Plant blooming azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons. If you’re shopping for these beautiful landscape plants, you can now find them in full flower at local nurseries.
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