Scarabs
Scarabs are any of a group of
beetles that roll or bury dung (food for their larvae). It is also the name of
the Entomologcial Society (Bug Appreciation Club) for the Puget Sound region.
The Club was founded on June 6,
1937 by a small group of entomologists, including the renowned Dr. Melville
Hatch, author of Beetles of the Pacific Northwest. Current active
membership is somewhere around 100. Meetings are held monthly on the 4th
Monday at 19:00. Venue is the lecture room near the loading dock of the Burke
Museum, UW campus. Visitors are always welcome to attend. Meetings generally
feature a speaker, often with a slide show, general reports of field trips,
door prizes, etc. In December the meeting consists of a Holiday party at a
member's home. On some months, the meeting is a special collecting trip or
picnic field day. Scarabs play an integral role in organizing the Burke
Museum's Bug Day in September.
Current members include juniors
as young as 11 who have presented professional talks about their collecting
experiences. The club boasts a prestigious present and former membership,
including (present) Dr. John Edwards and Dr. Robert Gara of UW and Robert Pyle,
renowned butterfly conservationist and author and (past) arachnologist Dr.
Harriet Exline and coleopterist Dr. Borys Malkin.
There is a semimonthly
newsletter and activity calendar, the Scarabogram,
subscription to which is included in membership, for which annual dues are a
modest $12.00. Articles, news items, and commentary are actively solicited. To
submit material, contact the editor, Rod Crawford: tiso@u.washington.edu . Scarabs is a fun group. Join to
participate!
To JOIN SCARABS, contact Marilyn Tilbury: 206-723-9009, mtilbury99@hotmail.com
updated
20020725 by eas
