The Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, is hosting an open house, themed "Venomous vs. Poisonous" from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 2 that will feature live poison dart frogs and  specimens of monarchs, robber flies and spiders.

The event, free and family friendly, will take place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, and in the hallway. It also will include a family arts and crafts activity. Parking is is also free.

Neurobiologist and behaviorist Eva Fischer,  an assistant professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, will be showing live poison dart frogs from her lab and answering questions. The frogs derive their poisons from a diet of insects, which include ants, mites and termites. 

"These are non-toxic in the lab because they get their toxins from their diet," Fischer said. Poison dart frogs belong to the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. They are known for their bright coloration and toxicity. 

Tabatha Yang, Bohart education and outreach coordinator,  said the open house will focus on "the difference between venomous animals and poisonous animals that are arthropods. Monarchs will be featured as they are famously poisonous, but we are excited to share lesser-known animals like Asilid flies or assassin/robber flies, which have venom glands to subdue their insect prey.”

Other organisms featured:

Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus. They ingest toxins from milkweed, their host plant, and store them in their bodies. Their bright coloration signals to predators that they are toxic.

Robber flies, also called assassin flies (family Asilidae). They stab their prey with their short, strong proboscis,  injecting a toxic saliva that contains neurotoxic and proteolytic enzymes. This paralyzes the prey.

Jeff Smith, curator of the Bohart's Lepidoptera collection, will display printed images of caterpillars that are venomous and poisonous. He plans to pair them with the adults in the collection. 

Wear Warning Colors

Those attending are encourage to wear aposematic or warning colors--"think yellows, reds and oranges contrasted with blacks or dark browns like black widows, yellowjacket wasps, or monarch butterflies," Yang said.

The Bohart Museum, founded in 1946, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo comprised of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects, tarantulas and more. The Bohart gift shop is stocked with T-shirts, hoodies, books, posters, toy stuffed animals, jewelry and insect collecting equipment. The Bohart just received a shipment of its popular monarch t-shirts, designed by Bohart associate and UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, professor at Folsom Lake College and ENT lecturer.

Director of the Bohart Museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.

For more information, contact the Bohart Museum at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or [email protected].