UPPER LAKE >> The Lake County Land Trust will present its last children”s education program of the year on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at the Rodman Preserve. The program will focus on insects and will be presented by Brittany Nelms, an entomologist with the Lake County Vector Control District, along with intern Broc Pasqual.
Children will learn how to differentiate between mosquitoes and gnats, mosquito larva from gnat larva and how to find them in Clear Lake.
“Bring yourself and your child to the Rodman Preserve and interact with these and other important Lake County insects. Participants will be looking at live mosquitoes and gnats and you will be able to see firsthand how they look and survive in their aquatic habitats,” land trust board member Roberta Lyons stated.
Microscopes will be set up so children and parents can see, up close, the various features of the flies. The mosquito tower will be on display, showing the entire mosquito life cycle up close.
“Want to feed the fish? The kids will be able to pick out mosquito larva and feed them to our hungry mosquito fish.” Nelms said,
She is also planning to show participants the different life stages of mosquitoes and their lookalikes (gnats, rice flies and midges) and how to tell them apart. She will explain what those “swarms of insects,” around the lake are, talk about where they live and their life cycles.
The public is invited to this free-of-charge event. Reservations are encouraged, but not required.
The preserve is owned and operated by the Lake County Land Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Lake County”s natural areas. For more information, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org.
Call Lyons at 994-2024 for more information or to reserve a spot.
The Rodman Preserve Nature Education Center is located at 6350 Westlake Road near Upper Lake.
