Trip to a Butterfly and Bug Zoo

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Growing up, my family and I would often go to the butterfly garden at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, NY. I loved going there to see all of the different butterflies that they had but admittedly, I was a little bit scared of them. They would flutter around, occasionally landing on people and taking sips from the nectar and sugar water. The more I went, the less scared I was of butterflies and I became much more appreciative of them as well. When I heard we were going to a butterfly zoo for our class, I was ecstatic. Little did I know there would be other insects and arthropods there including beetles, honeybees, stick insects, mantids, cockroaches, assassin bugs, millipedes, and spiders. They also had a few amphibians like frogs, axolotls, and newts. 


When we got to the GT Butterfly House & Bug Zoo, Jules, who has been an animal professional for 10 years, welcomed our class and told us a lot of information about different types of giant beetles. Jules showed us a beetle which they fittingly named Dwayne “The Rock”. This beetle is a Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) and this species can be found in Central America. The males have large horns used for competing with other males to win over a female. Their pupae phase lasts for a month and after that, they live for about 3-6 months. Their diet as larvae consists of rotting wood and as adults, they eat fruit. At the zoo, they use beetle jelly to feed the beetles, which actually comes from Japan where beetle wrestling is apparently a popular event. A fun fact that Jules shared about the Hercules beetle is that the elytra change colors when there are changes in humidity. We also got to see a giant stag beetle (Lucanus elaphus) named Sparky B which originates from Asia and has very large mandibles, also for fighting other males. Something that Jules emphasized is that they like to name the insects so that when they show them to people, they will be able to see them as more than just scary insects. 







The butterflies in the garden were shipped from Costa Rica, so they are not native species that would be found in Michigan. Everything at the butterfly garden is heavily regulated to make sure none get out because they could end up being invasive or carry parasites. We were told by the staff that there were 45 different species in the garden. Some of them were still in their chrysalis or cocoon, and we didn’t get to see any coming out of their pupa stage but there were plenty of butterflies to see flying all around the garden. There was also an atlas moth (Attacus atlas), which is one of the biggest lepidopteran species, but it only lives as an adult for 5-7 days. Some of the other species that were spotted were the Giant Owl (Caligo memnon), Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides), Green Clipper (Parthenos sylvia), and Doris Longwing (Heliconius doris). Most of these butterflies only live for a couple of weeks, but the staff continues to care for the butterflies and moths until they pass away. 

The trip to the butterfly and bug zoo was a nice way to wrap up the last full day of class… and so was the ice cream afterward! Shout out to Dr. Hoekman for the ice cream/slushies! We got to learn so much about the different insects and other animals they had at the zoo, and even got a chance to hold some of the insects and see them up close. After taking Insect Ecology, I have gained a lot more respect for insects. I’ve also realized how complex they are for being so incredibly small and I’ve learned so much about their vital role in ecosystems.


 


 











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