New Orleans Audubon Insectarium 6/21/08

[Kid Dragon]

I just got back from the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans. We entered at 10AM when they first open which I would highly recommend, as it get more crowded as the day goes on. It has a way to go before it is as good as the Insectarium de Montreal, but it is by far the best Insectarium in the USA. The Montreal Insectarium is geared more towards an older crowd, the Audubon Insectarium is geared more towards children, but has enough to keep adults happy. My wife and I toured it for 4.5 hours without children and viewed every inch of it.

As the name implies the emphasis is on insects. It doesn't have too much in the way of Arachnids: It has a Grammostola rosea on display in the "Field Camp" section, a Brachypelma smithi in a display inside one of the cafeteria tables in the "Tiny Termite Café" (yes it is a live T inside a see-thru a table), and a Poecilotheria regalis in a beautifully done display case in the "Success Stories Gallery". It is set up so you can see the Indian Ornamental from different angles. Also in the "Success Stories Gallery" are scorpion displays under a thick see-thru plexiglass floor that kids can walk on and see the scorpions under their feet. I believe the only scorpions in that display that were live were Emperor Scorpions, and the rest were plastic models of different scorpion species. The floor lighting is dark in that exhibit, and the scorpoins are inside the floor under thick plexiglass, and not always that easy to tell live from display model.

I will add information to this thread about what you can expect when you visit. If you are an insect enthusiast I give it an 8 out of ten (Montreal Insectarium gets a 10), and if you have children, without question a 10 out of ten. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 children, $12 seniors and in my opinion it is an excellent entertainment value.

www.auduboninstitute.org

The children that visited were in awe of the insects, displays, activities, and movie. I would say the prime age to bring your kids would be from 7-12 years old. If you have a kid that's a bug geek age range doesn't apply. This Insectarium is guaranteed to inspire future entomologists, and future tarantula enthusiasts into our hobby.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 2: Terninix Immersion Theater

The Insect movie that is shown in the Terminix Immersion Theater is called "Awards Night" MC-ed by a butterfly whose voice is Jay Leno's. It is a video that you would expect from Disney with special effects from a goliath beetle, wasp, stink bug, and honeybees. It is very well done and entertaining for adults and children. It lasts only about 5 minutes but is a highlight.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 3: Bug Appétit

Next to the "Tiny Termite Café" is the Bug Appétit where you get to eat bugs prepared by some New Orleans Chefs. I ate a pancake topped with apple and a cricket, I ate some mealworms (flour beetle larva), and some wax worm salsa on a chip. They were all very good (I went back for seconds). :}

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 4: Butterflies in Flight Gallery

An indoor butterfly garden housed in one of the rooms of the US custom House where the Insectarium is located called Butterflies in Flight Gallery. It is the first time I have been to a butterfly garden inside a normal room. It is weird, but you can still walk through even if its raining or gets cold in the winter. They keep it very warm and humid, I wonder if the paint will eventually peel off the walls. Instead of seeing butterflies in a natural setting, you'll see them clinging to a white wall, which is not very pleasing to me. They have many species with no attempt at educating you to which species is which. The butterfly garden at the University of Florida in Gainesville is way better than this display. This needs a lot of work to get it to the point of blending with the quality of the rest of the Insectarium. They had a creative idea that fell short and needs improvement. If they think their butterfly "gallery" is cool because its kind of like a butterfly garden, it just comes off like a below average butterfly garden. :8o

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 5: Field Camp

They had a volunteer with a rosie tarantula, a millipede, and an ox beetle to have children come into close contact with arthropods. The rosie was in a critter keeper and was not handled by anyone. The kids were allowed to touch the millipede while the volunteer held it. The kids were allowed to reach into the critter keeper that had no lid touch the beetle. The purpose of the Field Camp was to let the kids feel an arthropod, which they accomplished. I think this is important because many kids don't play in the dirt outside like kids use to in the past. :worship:

They also gave some good information about tarantulas being venomous, but not deadly venomous to humans.

They made no attempt to ID the millipede to species. When I asked what species it was, the volunteer did not know. I think I recognized it as Narceus americanus.

In the centipede exhibit that had a centipede labeled Scolopendra sp. they educated the public th the fact that there are over 2,800 different species of centpedes, and they always have an odd number of segments between 17-177 segments. Great stuff, but would it have killed them to throw in the species name (specific epithet) with the genus name? Such as Scolopendra heros. :?

They are clever enough on their billboard ad to advertise the Insectarium using a tarantula (B. smithi). What about having an experienced handler pick up a T. blondi once every hour, or even a G. aureostriata using safe technique? This would give the kids something to remember! While the T was up in the air, it would be a good time to teach the kids some facts about Ts.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 6: List of live Coleoptera on display

Since the largest Order of Insecta is the beetles (Coleoptera) with over 350,000 species, it is only fitting that the Audubon Insectarium would have a great collection of live beetles on display. Here were some of the live specimens displayed 6/21/08

Stag Beetle Dorcus tianus
Giant Tiger Beetle Amblycheila cylindriformis
Rhinoceros Beetle Xylotrupes gideon
Ox Beetle Strategus aloeus
Cottonwood Borer Longhorn Plectrodera scalator
Predaceous Diving Beetle Cybister fimbriolatus
Whirligig Beetle Dineutus discolor
Metallic Frog Beetle Sagra bugueti
Sunburst Diving Beetle Thermonectus marmoratus
Lady Bug Hippodamia convergens
Malaysian Weevil Macrochirus praetor

They had many more beetle specimens on display that were pinned to display boards. Most were not identified to species. Many were arranged in art displays to make the outline of a dragon (Asian species) or something symbolic of the continent they were found on. I would have liked there to have been more labeled specimens classified to species in addition to the beetle artwork.

The displays were very well done, but they have a ways to go before they can compare to the collection at the Insectarium de Montreal. To be fair, Audubon Insectarium has just opened, so they need some time to develop their collection

I learned that 3 million Japanese raise and collect live beetles. If you think collecting tarantulas is an expensive hobby, the Japanese will pay thousands of dollars for rare species of beetles for their collection. :wall:

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 7: Fathers of Entomology

They had a tribute to three famous men in entomology (women zoologists must be into Chimps and Mountain Gorillas).

Jean Henri Fabre (1823-1915) was honored as the "Father of Modern Entomology".

Georges Brossard, Quebec born, lawyer turned entomologist, collected over 250,000 insect specimens from over 100 countries. many of the specimens were donated to the Insectarium de Montreal. He helped with the Audubon Insectarium and called it a "Temple for Insects".

Edward Osborne Wilson was recognized as a great American Entomologist and the "Father of Sociobiology". His book, The Diversity of Life was in the display case that honored him. If you haven't read The Diversity of Life by E.O. Wilson I highly recommend it. It is one of the most important books ever written on biodiversity.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 8: Other Live Insects On Display

Here is a list of some of the live non-beetle insects they had on display at the Audubon Insectarium:

Dragon-headed Katydid Eumegalodon blanchardi
Orange-headed Cockroach Eublaberus prosticus
Flesh Fly Sarcophaga sp
Flower Mantid Pseudoreobroter sp
Dead Leaf Mantis Deroplatys dessicata
Red-spotted Assassin Bug Platymeris rhadamanthus
White-eyed Assassin Bug Platymeris biguttata
Walking Leaf-Insect Phyllium giganteum
Spiny Devil Walking Stick Eurycumtha calcarata
Giant Prickly Walking Stick Exatosoma tiaratum
Jungle Nymph Heteropteryx dilatata

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 9: Metamorphosis

One room of the Insectarium is devoted to insect metamorphosis. This is one of three factors that has led to the great biodiversity of insects: size, flight, and metamorphosis.

Complete Metamorphosis: egg-larva-pupa-adult life cycle was illustrated with live Tobacco Hornworms, Munduca sexta. Almost 90% of all insects undergo complete metamorphosis, which makes sense since this includes insects from some of the largest orders: Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera. The larva of many live in a different habitat than the adults and occupy a diiferent niche to reduce intraspecific competition.

Incomplete Metamorphosis: egg- nymph-nymph-nymph-nymph-etc-adult live cycle was illustrated with live milkweed bugs, Oncopeltus fasiatus. A little over 10% of all insects undergo incomplete metamorphosis, like the Orders Hemiptera and Orthoptera. The nymph looks somewhat like the adult just smaller, without wings, its head is larger in proportion to its body, and is not sexually mature. Some insects have long lived nymph stages and short lived adult stages.

Overall, the Audubon Insectarium did a great job teaching the difference between the different types of metamorphosis and their survival advantages.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 10: Endangered Insects

They have a display about some of the most endangered species of insects including donated preserved specimens such as:

The Delhi Sands Fly Rhaphiomidas terminatus abdominalis which lives in a single location in the Colton Dunes in San Bernardino County, California and the only fly presently on the Endangered Species List. This fly was emergency-listed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1993, and it has been an extremely contentious listing ever since. Political officials and news services from the region have repeatedly decried this fly as a disease-carrying pest, despite documentation that it is not; there have been repeated attempts by local officials to have the species de-listed. Residential and commercial development, agricultural conversion, sand mining, invasion by exotic species, dumping of cow manure and trash, and off-road vehicle use have resulted in significant loss and modification of the species' habitat. Estimates are that over 97% of the original habitat is already gone, and only a portion of what remains is suitable habitat for these flies.

The American Burying Beetle Nicrophorus americanus is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America. It is the largest carrion beetle in North America and requires carrion to breed. It is also one of the few species of beetle to exhibit parental care. The decline of the American burying beetle has been attributed to habitat loss.

The Cape Stag Beetle Colophon sp. Found on remote Mountain tops in South Africa's Cape Province, collectors have paid thousands of dollars for this species. All Colophon sp. are Endangered Species.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 11: Termite Gallery

The Formosan Subterranean "Super Termite", Coptotermes formosanus was used to show the impact of an accidentally introducted Chinese exotic species on the SE USA landscape. Very well done to illustrate the seriousness of this pest, and the negative impact exotics have on the environment. Not the best thing we imported from China

http://www.termite.com/termites/formosan-subterranean-termite.html

 

[Kid Dragon]

Part 12: Some Educational Highlights

Evolution:They have information on the velvet worm, Peripatus, which has both annelid and arthropod characteristics, and could be an evolutionary link between the two phyla. Velvet worms are placed in the Phylum Onychophora.

Size: Pharnacia serratipes is almost 22 inches long and is now known as Phobaeticus serratipes, is a stick insect from Malaysia and Singapore. This stick insect is the longest insect species. The largest butterfly is the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, Ornithoptera alexandrrae, at 12 inches. The Tarantula Hawk Wasp is 3.5 inches, and the Bullet Ant 1.5 inches were used to show impressive size in insects.

Commercial Use: The Cochineal Scale Insect is used to make red cochineal dye used in Good & Plenty candy, yogart, and cosmetics.

Culture: Insects have been important illustrations in art, stamps, and coins. One of many of the examples displayed was a Polish gold coin with a Stag Beetle on it.

 

[BeetleExperienc]

Kid Dragon,

What a great write up! The only things I think you missed (that I remember) were: live Chalcosoma atlas and the dung beetle exhibit near the restrooms (two of my favorites). I'm so glad they are finally open (I've been waiting for years) and glad I was able to help them out in my own small way. Hope we see more opening in the US.


Steven

 

[Kid Dragon]

Kid Dragon,

What a great write up! The only things I think you missed (that I remember) were: live Chalcosoma atlas and the dung beetle exhibit near the restrooms (two of my favorites). I'm so glad they are finally open (I've been waiting for years) and glad I was able to help them out in my own small way. Hope we see more opening in the US.


Steven

Steven,

Please post Part 13 about the Chalcosoma atlas and the dung beetle exhibit, I missed those species

Thanks,
Barry

 

[BeetleExperienc]

Part 13: A few more items

1. Somewhere near the middle of the main hallway is a display with a male atlas beetle.

2. Right outside the entrance to the restrooms (and purposefully so) is an exhibit of Phanaeus vindex. The vivarium itself is set into a housing made to look like a very large ball of dung which is being rolled by a very large beetle.

3. There are several lunch tables that have live things on display below the glass of the table. My fav is the one with two male Xylotrupes.

Two recent things:
They now have exotic butterfly species in the butterfly room and the giant weevil has been replaced by a large stag (Odontolabis I think).


Steven

 

[dtknow]

Noticed the comments on the tarantulas. Why not some of you who are close volunteer your collections and some time?