Fresh Sheet – May 31, 2014

Get ready to enjoy colorful moth and butterfly species from Southeast Asia. They’re emerging now in our Tropical Butterfly House.


Penang Butterfly Farm, Malaysia

20 - Attacus atlas (Atlas Moth)
10 - Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant)
53 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
10 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
40 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
50 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
50 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
50 - Parthenos sylvia (The Clipper)
04 - Precis almana (Peacock Pansy)
13 - Precis atlites (Gray Pansy)
50 - Vindula dejone (Maylay Cruiser)

Total = 350

“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.


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Fresh Sheet – May 24, 2014

Our butterfly shipments this week contain some of our favorites: Four species of Heliconiidae, four kinds of Charaxes, three subspecies of Clippers, two species of Prepona, and ten species of Papilionidae - include a Birdwing - plus much, much more! Can you find your favorites on today’s lists?


Bioproductores de El Salvador

20 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
15 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
10 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
16 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
08 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
20 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
60 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
60 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
10 - Myscelia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
15 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
08 - Papilio androgeus (Queen Page)
20 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
20 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
10 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 367

LPS-LLC

10 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
20 - Charaxes castor (Giant Charaxes)
20 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charaxes)
05 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charaxes)
10 - Charaxes varanes (Pearl Charexes)
10 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime)
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
14 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
10 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
10 - Papilio demodocus (Orchard Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
05 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
03 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
20 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
10 - Parthenos sylvia lilacinus (Blue Clipper)
10 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
08 - Parthenos sylvia violaceae (Violet Clipper)
20 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger)
05 - Troides rhadamantus plateni (Platen’s Birdwing)
05 - Vindula dejone (The Cruiser)

Total = 235

Grand Total = 602

“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.


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Spring Cleaning!

If you’ve spent any time outside in Seattle recently, you’ll notice that summer is on its way. Summer at Pacific Science Center means longer open hours, lots of visitors, and no more closed-to-the-public Tuesdays. Before we resume our seven day a week opening schedule (May 27), the Life Sciences department has many spring-cleaning chores to perform.

Recently, volunteers from the Liberty Mutual Insurance, Serve with Liberty program joined Life Sciences staff and volunteers to help with our spring-cleaning. This enthusiastic team helped weed our courtyard gardens, scrub algae off the tide pool, scour the pond and power wash the floor of our Tropical Butterfly House.

With our big cleaning projects out of the way, we can now look forward to spending more time with our guests this summer and be happy knowing that plant and animal exhibits will be looking good in the coming months!

Thank you Liberty Mutual Insurance volunteers!

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Fresh Sheet – May 17, 2014

Look what just arrived from Costa Rica!


Suministros Entomológicos Costarricenses, S.A.
CRES, Costa Rica

11 - Brassolis isthmia (Small-spotted Owl)
20 – Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
23 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
46 - Catonephele numilia (Halloween Butterfly)
25 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
15 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Calico)
10 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
41 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
10 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
30 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
08 - Heliconius hewitsoni (Hewitson’s Longwing)
29 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
48 - Heliconius sapho (Sapho Longwing)
40 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
51 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
67 - Papilio thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
06 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)

Total = 480

“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.


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New Pollinator Garden at Pacific Science Center

If you've visited Pacific Science Center in the last several months, you may have noticed some gardening activity along the Boeing IMAX walkway. What's going on here?

Thanks to a generous grant from the Pendleton and Elisabeth Miller Charitable Foundation, Pacific Science Center will soon have a Pollinator Garden. Half of the garden was planted in March, and the second half will be planted in June.

You may be wondering, what is a pollinator? Pollinators are animals that help plants reproduce. Because plants are relatively immobile, many rely on animals for reproduction. Plants attract animals to visit their flowers using colors, scents, and rewards like nectar. By visiting multiple flowers, animals transfer pollen between plants, which allow the plants to produce seeds and fruits. Pollination is tremendously important for ecosystems and for human food-production. Some studies estimate that one-third of the food that humans eat is dependent on pollinators visiting flowers. Do you enjoy eating strawberries, apples, or chocolate? Thank a pollinator.

Unfortunately, many pollinators are having a tough time. Habitat loss, ecosystem disruptions, disease, and pesticides all play a role in pollinator decline. Their decline impacts human food supply, as well as the health and diversity of ecosystems.

The Pollinator Garden at Pacific Science Center will be a place for visitors to see local pollinators and learn more about how to help them. The garden will feature Northwest native plants, as native plants are the most likely to attract and support native pollinator species. A variety of flowering plants with different bloom times were chose to provide many months of nectar and pollen for adult pollinators. Several wind-pollinated plants were added to provide food and habitat for butterfly caterpillars and nesting pollinators. Some of the pollinators we hope to attract to the garden include native butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, bee flies, and beetles.

Come stroll through the Pollinator Garden at Pacific Science Center this summer to enjoy the flowers and spot some pollinators!

Species Name(Common Name)

Adiantum aleuticum (Western maidenhair fern)
Aquilegia formosa (Western columbine)
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnikinnick)
Asarum caudatum (Western wild ginger)
Athyrium filix-femina (Lady fern)
Betula papyrifera (Paper birch)
Camassia leichtlinii ssp. Suksdorfii (Greater camas)
Ceanothus velutinus (Snowbrush ceanothus)
Cornus canadensis (Canadian bunchberry)
Cornus sericea (Red-twig dogwood)
Dicentra formosa (Pacific bleeding heart)
Dodecatheon hendersonii (Henderson's shooting star)
Epipactis gigantea (Chatterbox orchid)
Erythronium oregonum (Giant white fawn lily)
Erythronium revolutum (Mahogany fawn lily)
Festuca roemeri (Roemer’s fescue)
Festuca rubra (Red fescue)
Fragaria virginia (Virginia strawberry)
Fritillaria camschatcensis (Kamchatka fritillary)
Gaultheria shallon (Salal)
Lilium columbianum (Columbia lily)
Lonicera ciliosa (Western trumpet honeysuckle)
Mahonia nervosa (Low Oregon grape)
Penstemon davidsonii (Davidson's penstemon)
Penstemon rupicola (Rock penstemon / Cliff beardtongue)
Philadelphus lewisii (Lewis’s mock orange)
Physocarpus capitatus (Pacific ninebark)
Pleuropogon refractus (Nodding semaphore grass)
Quercus vaccinifolia (Huckleberry oak)
Rhododendron occidentale (Western azalea)
Rhus glabra cismontana (Dwarf smooth sumac)
Ribes aureum var. areum (Golden current)
Ribes sanguineum (Red flowering current)
Spiraea douglasii (Douglas' spiraea)
Spiraea splendens var. splendens (Rose meadowsweet)
Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus (Snowberry)
Trillium ovatum (Western trillium)
Vaccinium ovatum (Evergreen huckleberry)
Vancouveria hexandra (White inside-out flower)


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Fresh Sheet – May 10, 2014

Ever taken a close look at a butterfly proboscis? Some are long and some are short. Sometimes a butterfly’s proboscis is rolled up and other times it's unfurled, searching for nectar or other liquid nutrients. Next time you visit our Tropical Butterfly House take a close look at this fascinating invertebrate appendage.


Neotropical Insects NV, Suriname

30 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
10 - Heraclides thoa (Thoas Swallowtail)
05 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
40 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
25 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
35 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
40 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
05 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
40 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

“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.


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What’s That Sound?

Visitors to Pacific Science Center’s naked mole rat colony and viewers of the naked mole rat cam often hear a persistent clicking sound. Listen:

http://pacificsciencecenter.org/audio/2014-05-01-mole-rats-chewing.mp3

We’re often asked, “What’s that sound?”

That is the sound of naked mole rats gnawing on the plastic tubes that connect their chambers. Animal caretakers find evidence of the gnawing when the mole rat habitat is cleaned and when chambers and tubes are exchanged.

Because naked mole rat incisors - their four front teeth - grow continuously, they must be frequently filed down with something hard. The tube ends are handy and they seem to be as popular as the concrete blocks that we provide. Some afternoons the chorus of gnawing, clicking, and snapping sounds deafening!

Watch this chewing activity in person or on camera. Careful listeners may even hear high-pitched squeaks and chirps as well. Those sounds are naked mole rat vocalizations! Translation anyone?


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Fresh Sheet – May 3, 2014

This week’s pupae shipment from Malaysia contains some new and interesting species. All of them will emerge into beautiful butterflies. Come, take a peak into our emerging window and see what’s happening!


Penang Butterfly Farm, Malaysia

05 - Appias lyncida (Chocolate Albatros)
17 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
50 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
30 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
10 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime)
17 - Danaus vulgaris (Blue Glassy Tiger)
30 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
06 - Euploea phaenareta (Great Crow)
30 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
60 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
50 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
50 - Parthenos sylvia (The Clipper)
50 - Precis almana (Peacock Pansy)
40 - Precis atlites (Gray Pansy)
50 - Vindula dejone (The Cruiser)

Total = 495

“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.


Read more!