Scarabs: The Bug Society

What : When : Who : Join

The Scarabs are an informal group of folks who, for diverse reasons, are interested in insects and/or spiders. We have banded together (perhaps "swarmed" would be a better word) to socialize, exchange views, see interesting programs, and go on field trips with like-minded people.

Real scarabs (a type of beetle) spend their time burying balls of dung. The Scarabs, however, meet once a month, usually for a lecture or presentation, sometimes for a picnic or party. We go on field trips to collect, watch, or photograph the creatures of our choice. We publish a monthly newsletter, "Scarabogram," with news, articles, illustrations, and poetry. We show and tell about our collections and memorabilia. But mostly, we just sit around and talk about bugs!

"Scarabs" was founded over 85 years ago, on June 6, 1937, by beetle expert Melville Hatch and seven friends and students, as "a social group where it would not be out of order to talk about beetles." As the years passed, interests of the group broadened from beetles alone to other insects and a wide variety of related subjects. In the early seventies, after some 500 meetings, there was a temporary lull in activity following the retirement of the founder. The group was reorganized in January, 1979, by Sharon Collman under the sponsorship of King County Cooperative Extension and has been going strong ever since. For a more complete history of The Scarabs, click here.

The Scarabs (until the pandemic) met at the Center for Wildlife Conservation, Woodland Park Zoo (at the 55th & Phinney entrance), Seattle. We hope to go back to meeting there some day, but for now we are meeting online via Zoom. Meeting time is 7:00 PM on the 4th Monday of each month except December. Some months we meet in the field instead of online or in a meeting room.
      Click to see our Current Coming Events Calendar!

All are welcome! Members range in age from young children to retirees, and in experience from rank beginners to seasoned professional entomologists. Local members, who can attend meetings, are preferred, but others are not turned away. The only requirement is an interest in the subject matter!

Prospective members are encouraged to attend a meeting before joining. All are welcome at our meetings, whether members or not. Members receive a monthly newsletter, "Scarabogram."

For information, call:
     Rod Crawford at (206) 543-9853 (this is an afternoon number)
     Sharon Collman at (206) 498-3515 (this is a day number)
(both of us have voice mail during off hours)

Annual dues are $20.00 (make checks payable to Scarabs)
Treasurer is:
Carolyn Heberlein,
3668 Dayton Ave. N, Seattle WA 98103-8511,
206-633-2313,
email coheberlein   @   yahoo.com (omit spaces).

This page last updated 22 October, 2024