PAPER ABSTRACTS

Observation Bee Hives - New and Improved
Richard Cowan, Kalima Consultants, Inc.
Many facilities install observation beehives fabricated by designers that are not familiar with honeybees or their habits. A well-designed beehive must meet the needs of the colony while being easy to maintain and durable. Experiences with a poorly designed beehive resulted in assistance from several local beekeepers in the fabrication of the new exhibit. This presentation focuses on the problems encountered and the improvements made to avoid them in the future.

Atta Girls! Troubleshooting with Captive Colonies of Atta cephalotes
M. Paige Howorth, San Diego Wild Animal Park
Small but mighty, leaf-cutter ants inspire wonder in all whose paths (literally, sometimes) they cross. Consequently, many institutions aspire to display them for public admiration. However, it is one thing to take a young queen and her brood out of the ground, and quite another to coax it to a full-blown colony in an artificial environment. This paper deals with the story of two colonies of Atta cephalotes, from acquisition to adulation, and all that occurred in between. Topics covered will be humidity regulation, host plant preferences, and solutions to problems which present themselves with colony growth.

Termites: The Talk of the Town
Zack Lemann, Audubon Institute
The introduction of the Formosan subterranean termite into the U.S. has resulted in billions of dollars in property damage, repair, and treatment costs. The USDA and the Audubon Institute have joined forces in research and public education efforts. The Institute's "Bugmobile" is currently presenting termite and more generalized arthropod talks to youth and adult audiences all over the New Orleans area. So far, this has been a great model for cooperation between the federal government and a private, nonprofit group.

Termite Town: Homes for Giant Dampwood Termites
Randy C. Morgan, Insectarium, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
The giant dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis, is simple to keep, culture and display. It also is one of the world's largest species (soldiers up to one inch long!), native to western North America (making permitting relatively easy), and an ideal food source for small insectivores (yum-yum!). Welcome to termite town, a highly social community where the best homes are heavily infested.

Quantitative Data of the Silk Tension in the Webs of Argiope, A. aurantia
Alexandra Rose, Home School Student, Woodridge, IL
From my previous field studies of the Argiope, A. aurantia, during the spring and summer of 1996, I presented a detailed paper on the natural history of this species. My observations continued throughout the summer of 1998. Each time, I came away with many interesting questions, which have led to my further research. Primarily I will be focusing on whether the Argiope spiders actually adjust the tension in their webs to optimize their prey-catching ability by use of the stabilimentum. I will be attempting to quantitatively measure the tension in the spiders' webs using several methods.

Liphistius, a Living Fossil
Frank Somma, The Spider Factory
Liphistius is an unusual primitive (i.e., segmented abdomen) spider rarely kept in captivity. This paper will review recent work with this fascinating species, and highlight other arachnids kept by the author.

A Look at the Ubiquitous Crawfish
Ellen Hutto, Houston Arboretum and Nature Center
The arthropod order of Decapoda includes some of the most interesting members of the animal kingdom. Often called the "insects of the water", crustaceans comprise a group of about 35,000 species which make their home along both freshwater and marine environments. Along with its marine cousins, the freshwater crawfish is a member of the Decapods. Like the lobster and crab, crawfish are separate sexes and fertilization is accomplished internally. However, it is interesting that the young crawfish hatches as a miniature replica of its parents, bypassing the usual larval zooplankton stage common to marine crustaceans.

More Marvelous Mantids
Cynthia Mazer, Callaway Gardens' Day Butterfly Center
Mantids are wonderful exhibit insects that never cease to fascinate all. This talk will focus on some new species in the trade as well as discuss interesting life history behaviors.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling: Captive Breeding of the Dung Beetle,
Canthon imatator
Erin Sullivan, Woodland Park Zoo
Dung beetles make a great educational and entertaining display for any insect exhibit. What child can resist the lure of not only beetles but beetles and poop! These hard working insects can keep visitors entertained with their dung rolling antics while providing a great example of nutrient recycling. At the Woodland Park Zoo, we have been maintaining a colony of Canthon imitator for the last year. This will be a presentation about the beetles natural history, husbandry and display.

Husbandry and Display of Robust Camel Crickets Udeopsylla robusta
Christopher Wirth, Kallima Consultants, and Andrew Branson, Tulsa Zoo & Aquarium
In live arthropod exhibits, orthopterans are frequently underrepresented. Currently, keepers rely upon a few standard species such as the common house cricket, lubber grasshoppers, and some katydids for living displays. The Robust Camel cricket, Useopsylla robusta (Rhophidophoridae) is an ideal alternative and should be considered for display in insect zoos. Captive husbandry and display of this arthropod will be discussed in this paper.

Using Arthropods as Teaching Tools
Fred Sherberger, Fernbank Science Center
Ninth-grade science students use arthropods to examine several aspects of ecology. Benthic sampling provides an "Adopt-A-Stream" type evaluation of a first-order stream, and looks at roles of the invertebrate groups found. A second study uses student-collected Berlese samples. Analysis focuses on biodiversity and evaluation of long term habitat moisture, and serves as an introduction to the functional roles of arthropods in general. A third aspect, observing and discussing live tarantulas and other arthropods, provides live animal experiences while noting major biological differences among individual species.

A Seasoned Native Butterfly Display: Things Learned from Personal Experience (that I wish someone could have warned me about, ahead of time).
Deborah McCowan, El Paso Zoo
The axiom that personal experience is the best way to learn, has once again been proven. Prior to the opening of the Zoo's seasonal native butterfly display in the late Spring of 1998, a few facilities were visited, literature searches were conducted and other captive invertebrate managers were contacted for butterfly exhibit information. Even though thorough pre-planning efforts resulted in a very successful zoo exhibit, a number of things occurred during the "run" of the exhibit that weren't quite planned for and that other "butterfly display neophytes" might benefit from knowing about, prior to their own leap into the breach.

El Paso Zoo's Seasonal Native Butterfly Display of 1998
Paula Swanson, El Paso Zoo
The El Paso Zoo's seasonal native butterfly display of the late Spring and early Summer of 1998, was a very successful endeavor that stoked the imagination of its guests and produced "record" zoo attendance. A modified greenhouse structure was fashioned into a display that enabled visitors to observe dozens of species of butterflies fluttering amidst numerous nectar producing plant species. Chrysalis boxes with emerging butterflies mesmerized young and old alike. Eggs and caterpillars of display species were collected and used by staff and volunteers to enhance visitor knowledge of the process of metamorphosis. Management practices and problems will be discussed.

Third Year Blues - Who's Going to Pay: Wrapping up the Trilogy on University Outreach Michigan State Style
Wayne Wehling, Dept. of Entomology, Michigan State University
The Bug House in the Department of Entomology at Michigan State University has completed its third successful year of public science education and outreach. The Bug House saga has unfolded at IICC over the past two years. Now, the events of developing an arthropod exhibit and zoo at a university have come full circle. This paper discusses the changes of the past year, the unique problems presented by a university setting, and prospects for continued financial support from the department and the university. Creative ideas are needed to keep programs alive in the ever-present atmosphere of tight budgets.

Conservation Plans for the San Xavier Talussnail, Sonorella eremita
Barbara Terkanian, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
In 1910, the San Xavier Talussnail, Sonorella eremita, was described from specimens found on a single desert hillside. No other populations of this snail have been discovered since. S. eremita's extremely restricted distribution and proximity to increasing human activity threaten its survival. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Desert Museum, the hillside owners (El Paso Natural Gas) and Arizona Game and Fish have formed a partnership to safeguard this invertebrate's future. The Museum will develop a refugium population as its contribution to the conservation effort. If all goes well, founder individuals will be collected in the fall of 1999.

Roger Williams Park Zoo & the Endangered American Burying Beetle Reintroduction Program
Ming Lee Prospero and Joel Hamilton, Roger Williams Park Zoo
In 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Roger Williams Park Zoo (RWPZ), embarked on a collaborative effort to reintroduce American Burying Beetles (ABB) to their historic habitat on Nantucket Island, MA. RWPZ is raising ABB's for USFWS for this unique reintroduction and has sent staff members to participate in fieldwork. Partnerships can be an effective means in working towards the conservation of species, habitats and biological systems. This paper will discuss the zoo's role in this partnership and the cost benefits of the project to RWPZ.

The Million Beetle March
Susan Post, Illinois Natural History Survey
Purple loosestrife is an exotic weed that threatens the natural composition of wetlands in Illinois. The most promising method to restore these wetlands is biological control-reduce weed populations to low levels to allow native vegetation to flourish. Any successful biological control program has 2 components: an agent that controls the problem and that can be easily reared-in our case, a Chrysomelid beetle that eats purple loosestrife, and a way to increase public awareness-an educational component. We have developed a curriculum on biodiversity, wetlands and their importance, that explains the natural process of biological control and its potential.

Husbandry and Reproduction of a Captive Peruvian Centipede
Deborah McCowan, El Paso Zoo
On May 9, 1998 0.1 Peruvian Centipede, Scolopendra gigantea was donated to the El Paso Zoo. Previously it had been housed alone for two and a half years on corn cob and a water dish. Post quarantine the centipede was placed in a naturalistic environment. On July 23, 1998 the centipede laid a cluster of 120 eggs. At the end of two weeks the 0.1 was observed leaving her hatchlings twice in one day each time to return and lay, this time, on her ventral side. That evening she was cannibalized by her hatchlings. The sternites and feet were left. The neonates soon died over the course of two weeks.

Mortality in Captive Bred Peruvian Centipedes, Scolopendra gigantea
Paula Swanson, El Paso Zoo
The El Paso Zoo received an adult Peruvian Centipede that had been in captivity for about 2 years. This animal had been housed singly since its acquisition. After arriving at the El Paso Zoo it laid, brooded, and hatched 120 young. Unfortunately neither the adult female nor the young survived. This paper will present the findings of specimens submitted for histopathology and microbial culturing.

The General Husbandry, Display Techniques & Breeding of the Giant Red Centipede Scolopendra gigantea Linnaeus 1758 (Diplopda: Scolopendromorpha) at Bristol Zoo Gardens
W. Spencer, Danny Tainton & Sarah Rossiter, Invertebrates Department,
Bristol Zoo Gardens
Our paper provides information on the culture of Scolopendra gigantea, including mating courtship, sperm transfer & egg-laying, also maternal care, growth and development of the young. We discuss the possibility of altruism in the female during maternal care and its effects on larval development. There are notes on S. gigantea general husbandry, including identification markers, feeding methods, behavioral observations and day to day maintenance protocols, with details on exhibit techniques used at Bristol Zoo's Invertebrate Dept. for on-show educational display. One brood was successfully reared through both embryonic and adolescent stadiums until an independent juvenile stage was observed.

Arthropods in Captivity in the INBioPark
Carlos E. Valerio, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
The INBioPark is a project being developed by the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) in Costa Rica. Besides museological exhibits and support facilities, the Park includes a series of interpreted nature trails through forested areas representing three types of Costa Rican forests (Dry, Rain and Central Valley) and a wetland habitat. Some exhibits will display arthropods in captivity; tarantulas (Brachypelma mesomelas, Sericopelma immensus or similar species), a nest of Paraponera clavata ants (carefully restricted, of course), hives of Melipona bees (used as honey bees in pre-Columbian times) and a dark house with scorpions, crickets and amblypygids. An additional display is still undefined.

Invertebrate Exhibits for the 21st Century: Crawling out from Behind the Glass
Michael J. Weissmann, Kallima Consultants, Inc.
Traditional zoos exhibit mainly the "charismatic mega-fauna", usually with only a few token invertebrate exhibits. When arthropods are displayed, they are generally in aquariums, and jewel-case exhibits. While the bars are being removed from the cages for the rest of the zoo animals, arthropods, with the exception of butterflies, have been left out of the modern habitat immersion and naturalistic exhibit trends. This paper will explore the possibility of habitat immersion exhibits for invertebrates, and examine some alternate forms of containment besides glass.

Venom: Striking Beauties - Exploring the World of Venomous Animals at the National Aquarium in Baltimore
Sandra Barnett, National Aquarium in Baltimore
In 1998, a two-year exhibit devoted to the world of venomous animals opened at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It includes nearly three dozen species of terrestrial and aquatic animals from around the world, including nine species of venomous arthropods. The animals are displayed in naturalistic, mostly mixed-species exhibits. Back-lit graphic panels and video monitors introduce visitors to the fascinating and often misunderstood lifestyles of poisonous and venomous animals. This paper describes the exhibit, highlighting the arthropods in the collection. It addresses the challenges faced in creating and maintaining environments that are attractive to the public, healthy for the animals, and safe for the caretaker to service. It also describes the off-exhibit collection of venomous arthropods used for on-site educational programs and stocking the exhibit hall.

Getting Your Feet Wet with Marine Invertebrate Exhibits
Yvette Minjarez-Mueller, Kallima Consultants Inc.
Most zoos and aquariums emphasize large vertebrates in their exhibits. When invertebrates are exhibited, they are usually few in numbers, and then are usually terrestrial arthropods. However, terrestrial invertebrates are not the only ones that can be kept in captivity. In 1998, the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center in Westminster, Colorado, created a prototype marine invertebrate exhibit featuring intertidal species from both the Atlantic and Pacific shores. This paper will examine this exhibit, and discuss the features that worked, those that didn't work, and the animals that are best suited for this type of display, as well as ideas for taking this prototype to the next level.

Lust in the Dust, or Everything You Wanted to Know About Bug Sex*
(*but were afraid to ask)
Arthur V. Evans, The Insect Zoo, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Many institutions offer a Valentine's Day look at the sexual behavior of vertebrates, but what about the lusty encounters of the spineless kind? Public awareness of insects and their relatives is at an all time high and, combined with our insatiable curiosity about sex, it seems only natural to offer an equally popular, somewhat bizarre, occasionally seamy and always fascinating look at arthropod mating behavior. The scent of sex, foreplay, arthropod kama sutra, aural sex, erotic foods and bondage are just some of the topics covered. This talk is intended for mature audiences only!