With the Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear exhibit now open, fans of Pacific Science Center’s arthropods will have another place to visit with some of their favorite animals. People who have avoided our Insect Village due to a dislike of bugs now have a chance to rethink their feelings. Three species are featured in the exhibit in ways that encourage our guests to explore and challenge their fear of bugs.
The species we chose reflect the reactions we sometimes hear from our guests, as well as the fears of some of our own staff.
Many people have a deep, some say innate, fear of spiders. The Chilean Rose Tarantula (Grammostola rosea) is a calm species of spider. They would rather avoid trouble than face it. When threatened, they are more likely to attack by shooting leg hairs, causing skin irritation, than they are to bite. Even if provoked to bite, their venom is not dangerous to humans. Our tarantula is nearing time to shed her skin, something tarantulas only do once each year. Her exoskeleton is balding right now; soon she will have a new, silky growth of pink hair. She prepares by building herself a nice, comfortable silk pad to lie down on. Her species doesn’t like to touch rough surfaces.
Fear of cockroaches is fairly common. Most people don’t specifically fear being harmed by them, but rather dislike the idea of having them in the home. The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach’s (Gromphadorhina portentosa) natural habitat is the outdoors, which may make them less threatening. They are familiar from popular culture, and are also the one insect Pacific Science Center invites our guests to touch. Touching butterflies can hurt their wings, but cockroaches’ reputation for robust good health is deserved – they can be held and pet by hundreds and remain unharmed. But save the hand sanitizer for after you’ve pet them. It contains ingredients that dry their skin, and is much more of a threat to them, than they are to us.
The Desert Centipede (Scolopendra sp) was chosen for this exhibit because our Life Sciences Manager, Sarah Moore, admits that it is the one invertebrate she fears the most. This centipede can deal a painful bite and is larger than your garden variety. It is also far more mobile than most venomous creatures, running after its prey and catching it with its fangs. But in truth, Sarah’s fear is out of proportion to the damage this arthropod can inflict. Unless one had specific allergies, a bite would hurt but do no lasting harm. Active predators, centipedes are one of the beneficial animals that help keep pest insect populations under control. Without centipedes, spiders, and other carnivorous arthropods, we would have more damage to our gardens and more bugs in our houses!
What insects or arthropods do you fear? What makes them scary? What would make them less scary?
There has been a change of plan among the exhibit animals for Goose Bumps, the Science of Fear. The cages that came with the traveling exhibit are not designed for an animal as slim and flexible as a centipede. The centipede could hide so effectively that guests might never see it, or it might possibly even squeeze out and go on the run!
ReplyDeleteInstead we are displaying a pair of emperor scorpions (Pandinus imperator). With shiny black carapaces, large pincers and bulbous, pointed stingers, they look much scarier than they are. In reality, these scorpions are shy, and though they have venom, it is mild and does not present a danger to humans. There are scorpion species with more aggressive behavior and more toxic stings; the emporer is especially mild and docile. They live well in groups, provide maternal care for their young, and would rather hide than fight.
In fact, we did not originally use these scorpions for Goose Bumps because none of the life sciences staff think of them as scary. It just didn't occur to us until we were brainstorming about a centipede substitute, and saw that others had the fear reaction.
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