Wouldn't You Like to Be a Long-Horned Beetle?

You just can't beat those Halloween costumes at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual membership party.

By now, you've probably seen the peacock jumping spider costume created and worn by UC Davis entomology undergraduate student Wade Spencer. You've probably seen his courtship dance that went viral. As of today, the  mating dance, filmed by Bohart Museum associate Fran Keller, has drawn more than 715,000 hits and a few marriage proposals. (See Friday's Bug Squad blog for more information and a link to Keller's video.)

But have you ever thought of being a..drum roll..long-horned beetle? Of course, you have! Probably every Halloween, right?

Talk about creative!

UC Davis entomology undergraduate student Laurie Casebier crafted the  cerambycidae beetle (long-horned beetle) costume. "I used my bike helmet and cut a hula hoop in half and attached the ends to my helmet to make the long antenna and used duct tape to make the familiar notched eyes," she said. "Then I cut out paper and  my pseudotetramerous tarsi. I used a scarf as elytra. It was kind of modeled after the apple borer, but not really."

And then came UC Davis entomology  undergraduate student Benjamin Maples as a formidable praying mantis.  (The bees and butterflies avoided him.)

Forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty wore his favorite ghillie suit as he poured beverages for the crowd.

Then there were the look-alikes. Entomology student Maia Lundy, president of the UC Davis Entomology Club, dressed like her friend, entomology graduate Alex Nguyen ("Maia decided that it would be funny to look like me," he said) 
and entomology graduate student Joel Hernandez and UC Davis alumnus Melissa Cruz arrived as lumberjacks,

And then were were the bees that buzzed and the butterflies that fluttered. 

No one wore an orange T-shirt that proclaimed "This IS my Halloween costume."

That would..er...really bug entomologists.