Fresh Sheet - November 6, 2009

“Fresh Sheet” is our weekly shipment report of pupae on display in the emerging window. Visit Pacific Science Center’s Tropical Butterfly House and meet our newest residents.



07 - Anartia fatima (Banded Peacock)
07 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
13 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
07 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
22 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
14 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
09 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
07 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
23 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
20 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
14 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
06 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Cracker)
17 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Cracker)
17 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
11 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
21 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
25 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
26 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
23 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
16 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
07 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
11 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
35 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
02 - Opsiphanes tamarindi (Tamarind Owl)
07 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
29 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)
07 - Tithorea tarricina (Cream-Spotted Clearwing)

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Inside the Tide Pool

Behind the painted wall of the Puget Sound Saltwater Tide Pool touch tank, a pump, chiller and two large vats work nonstop to circulate, cool, and filter the water. Just like most home aquarists, we do a partial water change each week. And like many, we back-flush our pipes and filter media to keep them clean and operational.




Sometimes routine care is not enough, and we need to do some special maintenance to keep our system working its best. After the September full clean, the tide pool looked great, but changing out so much sand and water had diminished our population of beneficial bacteria.

To help foster new beneficials, we never clean both the touch tank area and our filtration vats at the same time; we try to leave at least six weeks between the two jobs. This keeps a reservoir of good bacteria, most of them lodged in floating Bio Balls that provide lots of surface area for helpful organisms to grow.



Unfortunately, the same surface area acts as a trap for lint, dust, hair, glitter, undigested food and sloughed material from the sea creatures, and a host of other unwanted debris. This waste drifts to the bottom of the vat, clogs the manifold that draws water into the pump, and therefore slows down water circulation. So after the six weeks elapsed, we knew the vat was ready for a little cleaning.

First the Bio Balls were lifted out of the vat to allow access to the water below. Note that the water in the touch tank area was perfectly clean looking, but the vat had accumulated enough solids to make it hard to see the bottom.






Next, the cloudy water, along with precipitated solids, was siphoned out of the vat. The last bit had to be cleaned out by hand.


At this point we could reach the manifold, which desperately needed cleaning. The manifold’s job is to allow water into the pump without allowing solids to get sucked in and possibly damage the machinery. The screen material that should let water through had become filled with particles and was causing the water to slow down. A good, hard rinse dislodged the gunk and the manifold was back in business.



We never use anything but water, salt and elbow grease to clean objects in the tide pool; soap and other cleaners can be deadly to the animals.


Putting the system back together is always easier than taking it apart. The manifold and Bio Balls were returned to the vat. Then we added enough synthetic sea water to make up for what we siphoned out. Through the rest of the day, we monitored the temperature, salinity, and circulation. Everything looked good, and by the end of the day, our system was back in business.



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Fresh Sheet - October 30, 2009

“Fresh Sheet” is our weekly shipment report of pupae on display in the emerging window. Visit Pacific Science Center’s Tropical Butterfly House and meet our newest residents.



El Salvador

20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
12 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
30 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
100 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
30 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
10 - Myscelia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
10 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
15 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
06 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Suriname

13 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
60 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
10 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
50 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
10 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
30 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
10 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
20 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
42 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
50 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
05 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)

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More Mole-Rat News

Many of our loyal readers have asked us for an update on the two litters of mole-rat pups. In fact, it seems that we have somewhat unfairly reported more about the first litter than the second. In the hopes of redressing this imbalance, we bring you this update on both litters.



The August babies are now big enough to weigh on the gram scale. In size, they are nearly caught up with the smallest of the grown colony members. Their most recognizable feature is their color – unlike older mole-rats or very small pups, they are deep grey. Their skin is less wrinkled than that of older animals, perhaps because they just grew into it. They look sleek, plump and slightly shiny. The August pups act like fully integrated colony members. They engage in the tasks of transporting food, chewing concrete and patrolling the tunnels. They seem to be a very self confident and have even engaged older and larger animals in some challenge-type behavior, like head shoving, or trying to walk over instead of under the bigger animal. It is pretty common to see the members of this litter far away from each other, interacting with older colony members rather than sticking together as littermates.

The September pups are also doing well. Their eyes have opened, they are now subsisting entirely on solid food though one was recently seen begging an adult for cecal pellets. These younger pups are still pink but starting to show their grey pigment. Pups from this litter are usually found together, and colony mates treat them like babies, carrying them in their mouths and herding them into the sleeping chamber when they stray. But don’t be fooled, these pups are very mobile and can get around the chambers on their own.


Occasionally, though, they do get stuck in a chamber with a tube just a bit out of reach. They must wait for a larger colony member to move them. Staff are identifying these spots and putting little steps in wherever the babies have trouble. The main task we have seen the pups do is tunnel cleaning – the famous “moon walk” where mole-rats walk slowly backward pushing bedding behind them as they go. Why clean backward? Helps keep dust and debris out of their faces.


Meanwhile, we have a female who is days away from delivering another litter. Our hope is that this time, with the experience of successfully rearing young, our colony will be able to care for these pups without the need to isolate them.
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