Paper and Poster Abstracts
BUTTERFLY BUFFET
Moderator: Barbara Reger, Greenfield, Indiana
How (Not) To Build A Butterfly Exhibition In 11 Months, 16 Days, And Too Many Hours
Mark R Hardin, Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian’s Horticulture Services Division sponsors an orchid show every other year in the Arts and Industries building in the National Mall. This year the theme was biodiversity. In addition to orchids we displayed live butterflies. In planning this exhibit (11 months) and demolishing and installing the orchids and butterfly house (16 days) we had many hurdles to cross, most while stumbling and knocking them over. After many hours of overtime and additional funds, the house was finished and two weeks after opening the butterflies had a home fit for them to fly in. The details of how the show was developed, how the construction was accomplished and how we retrofitted many systems for the butterfly house will be detailed.
Butterflies & Blooms, The Visitor Experience
Erin Sullivan and Kathryn Owen, Woodland Park Zoo
Woodland Park Zoos seasonal, temporary North American butterfly exhibit, Butterflies & Blooms, was planned to run for two summers. In its 5th season (2002), an evaluation was conducted to assess visitor satisfaction and effectiveness in conveying key messages. Visitors responses indicate that this exhibit is not only successful in conveying key messages, but that the majority of visitors are going beyond the topics of butterflies, moths and flowering plants to draw broader conclusions about the beauty, diversity and fragility of nature; some are also drawing conclusions about actions they would like to take in their own lives, such as planting a butterfly garden.
Chrysalis Parasitoids And Disease Trends: Interpreting Worldwide Data For Farm Raised Butterflies
Wayne Wehling, USDA-APHIS-PPQ and Mark Deering, The Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House
Presented by Wayne Wehling
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service requires annual reports on all pupae received by U.S. butterfly exhibitors. Parasitism and disease data are among the information gathered. Summarizing this data has revealed several interesting observations. In collaboration with Mark Deering, who has been emerging and collecting worldwide parasitoids, we will present a worldwide examination of farm raised butterfly diseases and parasitoids.
Marketing Your Butterfly Show
Andrea Schepmann, Cincinnati Parks - Krohn Conservatory
The Cincinnati Parks Krohn Conservatory has presented eight years of seasonal butterfly exhibits, each show successful and unique. Let us share the creative ways that you can maximize your potential for free press, develop successful partnerships, increase sponsorship dollars and utilize the skills of marketing firms to connect with potential visitorship.
The Butterfly Wing Takes Flight
Mary Harris, Reiman Gardens, Iowa State University
On November 5, 2002 the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing opened to the public. The Butterfly Wing is part of a $9,500,000 Conservatory Complex added to the existing 14 acre outdoor Gardens. Join me in a virtual tour of the concept development, construction, plant installation, first release and opening. And of course included, the redesigns, construction delays, plant infestations . . .
‘BUG’ HUSBANDRY
Brighter Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Linda D. Penn, Lourdes College Life Lab Program for Natural and Environmental Science and
Michael J. Weissmann, Ph.D., Kallima Consultants, Inc.
Further Advances in Firefly Rearing: The Lourdes College Life Lab has been successful rearing species in the firefly genus Photuris through several generations. This past year there has been significant success rearing another native firefly, Photinis pyralis, using a modified version of techniques that were successful in the past for Photuris. With construction completed in January 2003 on the Life Cycle Sciences Rearing Facility at Lourdes College, we now plan to adapt these techniques for mass rearing of large numbers of these species.
Captive Breeding Study Of Odonata In Penang Butterfly Farm
Kuennie Lee Yoke Kuen, Butterfly House (PG) Sdn. Bhd.
There are about 220 Dragonfly species and Damselfly species in Peninsular Malaysia. The Odanata breeding was started since September 2001 and the whole study took place in Teluk Bahang, Penang, Malaysia. To date since September 2001, there are about 10 dragonfly species and 2 damselfly species that have been bred in Penang Butterfly Farm. This paper will cover the materials and methods in the keeping of Odonates nymph, trouble shooting, and lastly discussion on the whole study.
Biology And Husbandry Of A Giant Stick Grasshopper: The Peruvian Jumping Stick (Proscopiidae)
Randy Morgan, Cincinnati Zoo
The Peruvian jumping stick is a strange and unusual grasshopper from the upper Amazon River Basin. We summarize its basic biology and detail rearing, breeding and display techniques used at the Insectarium.
CONSERVATION CONSIDERATIONS
Moderator: Zack Lemann, Audubon Nature Institute
Bringing Them Back Alive: The Return Of The Swamp Metalmark Butterfly To Illinois
Doug Taron, Chicago Academy of Sciences
The Swamp Metalmark (Calephelis mutica), is an endangered species in Illinois. The species was extirpated from the state sometime after 1983. Since 1981, Friends of the Fen have been restoring habitat at Bluff Spring Fen in northwest Cook County, where the butterfly was last recorded in 1939. In 2002, seven females collected in Wisconsin were confined on potted host plant (Circisum muticum). Forty of the resulting larvae were placed on host plants at Bluff Spring Fen. The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network will document recovery of the species.
The Oregon Silverspot Butterfly Project
Mary Jo Andersen, Oregon Zoo; Erin Sullivan, Woodland Park Zoo
Oregon Zoo and Woodland Park Zoo together with Nature Conservancy, state and federal agencies, and other key partners are working to recover the threatened Oregon Silverspot butterfly Speyeria zerene hippolyta to coastal habitat in the Pacific Northwest. Following the 1999 US Fish and Wildlife recovery plan our efforts focus on adult fecundity, larval survival during diapause and continued development of larvae into pupae. Our hopes are to successfully augment the wild population.
The Development Of An Educational Strategy For The Karner Blue Butterfly In Michigan
Daniel J. Hemmann, John Ball Zoological Garden
In November 2002, John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids hosted the Karner Blue Butterfly Michigan Working Group as part of the AZA Butterfly Conservation Initiative. The purpose of this workshop was to develop an educational strategy for the Karner Blue Butterfly in Michigan to supplement a statewide recovery plan. Groups from zoos, state and federal government, schools, and industry identified materials and programs that would best reach targeted audiences. This paper will discuss the results of this workshop as an example of how zoos can function as an educational facilitator for local endangered species conservation.
Grant Opportunities For Public And Private Organizations Pursuing Conservation Projects: Collaboration Is The Key
Steven R. Madigosky, Department of Environmental Science, Widener University
Both public and private organizations currently face budget cuts that often curtail opportunities for outreach, education, and research programs. One way to approach this problem is to consider sharing resources and expertise. The need for collaboration among public and private conservation organizations has never been greater and doing so offers a plethora of opportunities for obtaining funding. Many agencies find that fund conservation initiatives stress collaborative efforts directed toward pure and applied research as well as educational research. This paper will address (1) ways to approach grant writing (2) what organizations provide funding for conservation initiatives and (3) specifically where and how to search for funding sources.
ARACHNORAMA
Vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus) Life History And Rearing
Justin O. Schmidt, Southwestern Biological Institute
Vinegaroons are large, long-lived, showy arachnids that make excellent educational and display animals. In captivity, they present culturing problems including difficulty in getting them to molt, to mate, or to reproduce successfully. Many fundamental facts, including their life span, growth rate, number of eggs produced, and number of reproductive cycles per female were unknown. I will present life history data and will detail rearing and culture techniques to take them from adults through mating, egg laying, offspring rearing, and to mature mating adults. With a few tricks, they can be cultured and make excellent zoo and museum animals.
Connecting The Webs
Bob Merz, St. Louis Zoo
Consultations with facilities housing Nephila madagascariensis (Madagascar golden orb spiders) have divulged a wide range of housing situations and husbandry techniques. Some have been reported as successful; others have not. Through a formal survey of facilities housing the spider, I will attempt to collate basic data concerning housing and rearing techniques in an effort to establish a range of options for successful rearing and exhibition of these impressive and beautiful spiders.
The Life And Times Of The Whip Spider (The Life Cycle Of Amblypygi)
Bart Bouricius, Hampshire College
Using slides of Amblypygid species from several genera, generalizations about the Amblypygid life cycle will be developed. The entire reproductive cycle, including mating rituals, male fighting rituals, production of spermatophores and development of eggs and nymphs will be examined. This paper and presentation should be useful to those interested in maintaining and breeding Whip Spiders, as the author will draw on experience successfully breeding 5 species of Amblypygids, as well as extensive data collection and observation of Amblypygids in the wild.
REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
Moderator: Andrea Schepmann, Cincinnati Parks - Krohn Conservatory
Cooking Up A Plan
Jane Stevens, St. Louis Zoo
The St. Louis Zoo’s Invertebrate Department’s staff experimented to learn how foul we could make chicken smell. The effort was for a good cause. It was being used to bait traps with a smell that might attract a once-common, but now very long-lost American Burying Beetle. During the summers of 2002/2003 field research has been ongoing to rediscover this beetle in one of the 38 states it used to call home before being federally listed as endangered in 1989. What have we done to find it? What will we do if we don’t?
Beyond Butterflies: Training Costa Rican Butterfly Farmers To Expand Their Culturing Of Exhibit Arthropods
Steve Prchal, Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute; Nathan Erwin, Smithsonian Institution
The Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute (SASI) and the Smithsonian Institution initiated a pilot project to train two experienced Costa Rican butterfly farmers in arthropod husbandry techniques beyond butterfly larvae. One of the goals of this project is to have a few species of non-lepidopteron arthropods in culture and ready for sale along with the regular crop of butterfly pupae by the end of 2003. The presentation will chart the progress of this unique one-year pilot project.
From Cultivating Plants To Cultivating Donors: Creative Fundraising In A Cash-challenged Economy
Nancy Greig, Director, Cockrell Butterfly Center
Times are tight, and non-profits are hurting as most of us at museums and zoos have seen. We must look for new sources of income to keep our programs afloat. I’ll discuss some of the things we’ve done over the past year at the Cockrell Butterfly Center to bring in extra revenue - and welcome the chance to share ideas with others in the same boat!
REACHING OUT WITH OUR LITTLE FRIENDS
Arthropods A-go-go
Andre Copeland, Brookfield Zoo
The good news: Target offers your organization money and it accepts, great! The bad news: Reach 5,000 school kids through outreach in 4 months using animals and distribute Target backpacks, Uh Oh! The ugly news: Your zoo doesn’t have an approved animal outreach program, you have no outreach material, 3 1/2 staff people and six weeks to pull this off. Now What??? Join us to discover how we turned “Now What???” into “Oh Wow!!!” Find out how those lovable invertebrates helped us fulfill grant requirements through three, fun, flexible and well-received educational programs targeting grades K through 8.
Insects And Outreach
Brenda Walkenhorst, Audubon Nature Institute
I joined the Insect Outreach program at the Audubon Zoo in 2000. There was generous funding from the USDA and federal government to educate the public on the introduced Coptotermes formosanus. The challenge was in creating age appropriate curriculum and keeping the audiences from falling asleep during discussions of the biology and treatment of the subterranean termite. Several programs were written with the National Science standards kept in mind. As the funding is ending insect programming for Title I schools has become the focus of Insect Outreach. Curriculum is being developed with science standards in mind and with the edu-tainment aspect a key part of the program. This paper will also describe some of the programs that are available in our Insect Outreach.
Survivors: The Story Of A Bio-diversified Exhibit At Brookfield Zoo’s The Swamp
John V. Matuszek, Brookfield Zoo
From the day The Swamp at Brookfield Zoo opened in the Spring of 96, the reality of creating and maintaining the large Slice exhibit that includes native East Coast aquatic and terrestrial species of vertebrates and invertebrates would not be an easy task. Over the next 6 years a potpourri of invertebrates have entered the exhibit with the hope of not only surviving but also creating an enjoyable exhibit for the public.