Pacific Science Center Life Sciences

Fresh Sheet – January 28, 2012

2012-01-28T09:01:00.001-08:00

Four different species of Owl pupae arrived this week from Costa Rica. Come meet them at a fruit dish!

Costa Rica

8 - Agraulis vanilla (Gulf Fritllary)
8 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
20 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
15 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
23 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
34 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
27 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
21 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
08 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
16 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
06 - Hamadryas februa (Gray Calico)
23 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
12 - Hamadryas laodamia (Starry Calico)
20 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
29 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
21 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
26 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
08 - Heliconius hewitsoni (Hewitson’s Longwing)
04 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
20 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)
06 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
14 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 504

Snow Daze

2012-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Back in November, we discussed our winter snow plans, and what it would take to ensure that the animals safely survived through closures due to snow. Little did we know how very necessary this training would be. During the snow storms last week, Pacific Science Center was closed for two days, and the Life Sciences team was unable to get to the facility. The animals were in good hands though.

Camp-In Coordinator Merrick Neville was ready for the task on Wednesday. She walked in through the snow, fed all the animals, and had only one real concern. A sea star in the tide pool exhibit was creating a cloud of murky water around itself. Might it be injured, or even dead?

After a series of photos, questions and observations, we concluded that Merrick had probably seen spawning behavior and the sea star was ok.

The next day, Thursday, all of Seattle was under a blanket of ice and snow. The only hint of movement was IMAX Supervisor Jenn Bentz, striding through the snow to come take care of the animals. Because Merrick had discharged her duties with great care, Jenn found things in good condition, but she too had a question. Normally our horticulture crew meticulously grooms the plants and removes any butterflies that may have died in the exhibit space. Jenn was unprepared for the “au natural” appearance of the butterfly house when it does not receive this in-depth care, and called to make sure everything was right.

The Life Sciences Department is deeply indebted to both of these stalwart helpers, and to Data Processor Laura Mazzocchi, who spent Thursday on call in case additional help was needed. We are also most grateful to volunteer Terry Pagos, who came in on an unscheduled Friday because she knew we would need an extra hand.

Without Jenn’s and Merrick’s help, some of the following would surely have happened:

Dangerously low humidity in the mole-rats: Naked mole-rats do not drink water. All of their moisture needs come from food and humidity in the air. With our heated buildings in winter, it is critical to monitor and adjust humidity daily. Had the colony been in a low humidity situation for two full days, they would have suffered from skin problems, and possibly from digestive and respiratory issues as well.

Carnage in the tide pool: Most of our tide pool animals are carnivores, and unlike many exhibits, which sequester by species, ours have free access to all parts of the exhibit. Without someone feeding them, some of our more aggressive anemones and sea stars might have taken matters into their own hands (or tentacles) and eaten their exhibit mates.

Lost butterfly lives: An estimated 60 – 100 butterflies emerge every day, and must be placed on exhibit within a few hours. Without our emergency coverage, they would have languished and died in their emerging chamber, never able to fly.

It is hard to speculate on what other unknowns might have happened. Instead, we are happy to focus on the actual outcome – healthy, happy animals and the knowledge that we have great co-workers who have our backs when things get snowy.

Fresh Sheet – January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

This week’s pupae shipments arrived safely in spite of delays from the Monday holiday and Seattle’s "Snow-mageddon". And once again, we have representatives of three different species from genus Archeoprepona/Prepona. Visit our Tropical Butterfly House and enjoy the warmth!

Suriname

05 - Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart)
06 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
28 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
10 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
10 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
05 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
20 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded Shoemaker)
40 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
10 - Archeoprepona demophoon (Hubner’s Prepona)
06 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
50 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
10 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

El Salvador

20 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
19 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
12 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
23 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
35- Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
25 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
10 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)
20 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
12 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 356

GRAND TOTAL = 626

Fresh Sheet - January 14, 2011

2012-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

“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.

Philippines

20 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
116 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
100 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
19 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
27 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
41 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
16 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
40 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
20 - Ideopsis juventa (Wood Nymph)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 519

Snake Eyes

2012-01-11T16:01:00.000-08:00

Over the last few months, Animal Care staff noticed something a little funny about one of our boa constrictors. Esteban’s eye appeared cloudy, as though a thin white film were covering part of his eye and pupil. While snakes normally experience a brief period before shedding when their eyes cloud over and are nearly opaque, the rest of the time they are usually bright, shiny and clear.

When we brought him to The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine (BEAM), Dr. Maas used a bright, narrow beam light to pinpoint the source of the clouding. To our relief, it was not deep in the eye like a cataract, but right on the surface of the eye.

To understand what we did next, it is necessary to understand a bit of snake eye anatomy. Snakes are well known for their unblinking stare, and in fact snakes are unable to blink. Their eyelids are greatly modified, into a fused, clear covering over the eye, called a spectacle or eye cap.

This cap is strong enough that snakes can strike their prey, swim, slide through underbrush, and in some species use their heads for digging, all without blinking and without damage to their eyes. The spectacle itself may be scuffed up in the course of daily activities, but luckily it is shed when the snake sheds its skin, so it is always being replaced by a newer, clear covering.

Snakes’ eyes are mobile, and to allow this, there is a layer of liquid, like our tears, between the eye itself and the spectacle. Our concern was that if the eye were infected, bacteria would grow in that liquid layer, and be the source of the clouding.

To see what was going on with Esteban’s eye, Dr. Maas carefully inserted a very small needle between the spectacle and the eye, and removed a small amount of this liquid for testing. What he found was reassuring.

Esteban has no sign of infection in his eye tissue. Most likely, he produced excess protein due to a minor injury, or slight inflammation, and the cloudiness will take care of itself in the next few sheds. If not, we will need to inject minute amounts of anti-inflammatories into the space around Esteban’s eye – not a task for the faint of heart.

Bee Hive Update

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

As winter begins, the short, wet, cold days are hard on bees and ours are no exception. So it is with pleasure that we see some honey in the combs, signs that our pollen substitute is being accepted, a queen who is still active and surrounded by workers, and a notable absence of dead bees inside the hive.

What do each of these observations tell us?

Honey storage has a lot to do with how well the bees can get through the cold months. With temperatures cold enough to inhibit flight, bees cannot go foraging for nectar – even if there were flowers out at this time of year. Bees that have honey stored in their hive stand a much better chance of making it till spring. Our bees do not appear to have enough honey stored to survive until April flowers. However, the bees are still getting to the jar of sugar water just outside the hive. This means they can replenish their stock - and with luck and good weather - keep enough food to start generating new workers. One new trick we have used with our sugar water this year is flavoring it with mint extract. Mint is said to be a feeding stimulant, and our experience seems to confirm this.

Bee larvae, AKA baby bees, have much higher protein needs than adult workers. This protein comes from pollen. Unfortunately, our hive was completely out of pollen by early December. While we have seen success placing a sugar feeder outside, we never had much luck getting the bees to accept substitute pollen. This year, we tried pushing the pollen directly into the hive area, through the screen on one of their ventilation holes. Pollen substitute is never as well accepted as the real thing, but the bees do seem to be taking it up. Once the colony starts raising workers in spring, this may be a critical factor in whether they are able to rear enough young to replace the current workers.

As expected, the colony is taking a break from rearing workers. The queen takes several weeks off around the solstice, before gradually building up her egg production once again. This makes sense to the hive. In winter, raising extra bees is simply creating more mouths to feed. In spring, it is creating a new work force, able to go out and gather food once the flowers start blooming. Seeing our queen look active and fit gives us every reason to expect that her egg production should kick in shortly. We will be watching closely for this to happen.

The absence of dead bees may seem like a fairly obvious sign of a healthy colony. But in fact, there are some nuances to this, because we know that there are bees in the colony that have died. The population has been slowly declining from November until now. Bees live short lives – from 21 days in the height of summer, to a few months during the less active winter months. So over time, it is natural to expect the colony to shrink if the queen is not laying new eggs.

In a badly functioning colony, a bee that died inside the hive would stay there. In a healthy hive, another worker promptly remove the dead bee, so that her body would not cause health problems for other bees. Therefore, a lack of dead bees doesn’t mean that bees aren’t dying.

As our bees are gathering food for energy and for building up a new workforce with their healthy looking queen, we have high hopes for their success this spring. Of course we temper our hopes with caution. Beekeeping is a challenging activity, and many well-tended hives fail each year. But if we do have success, we will have learned several useful techniques for keeping our small hive healthy in the future.

Fresh Sheet – January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

The first two pupae shipments of the new year are now emerging in our Tropical Butterfly House. We have an abundance of butterflies including beautiful longwings and swallowtails that await your inspection!

El Salvador

30 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
15 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
12 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
30 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
20 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
20 - Morpho peleides(Blue Morpho)
30 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
15 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
30 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio pilumnus (Three-tailed Swallowtail)
15 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
06 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 328

LPS LLC

10 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing) PHILIPPINES
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charexes) USA
30 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf) PHILIPPINES
02 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay) PHILIPPINES
10 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly) PHILIPPINES
04 - Junonia (Precis) almana (Peacock Pansy) THAILAND
02 - Junonia (Precis) lemonias (Lemon Pansy) THAILAND
05 - Kalilima inachus (Orange Oakleaf) THAILAND
60 - Papilio constantinus (Constantines's Swallowtail) USA
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon) THAILAND
30 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail) USA
60 - Papilio ophidicephalus (Emperor Swallowtail) USA
10 - Papilio polytes (Polite swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
14 - Tirumala limniace(Blue Tiger) USA

Total = 267

Grand Total = 595

Fresh Sheet – December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

The last pupae shipment of the year has arrived from Costa Rica with 562 specimens including some of the largest and some of the smallest butterflies we ever get.

Costa Rica

08 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
20 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
06 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
05 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
40 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
23 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
04 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
10 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
14 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
11 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Calico)
22 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
18 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
30 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
11 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
33 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
31 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
13 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
19 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
22 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
04 - Morpho amathonte (Amathonte's Morpho,)
38 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
14 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
08 - Opsiphanes quiteria (Scalloped Owl)
13 - Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
20 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)
19 - Philaethria dido (Scarce Bamboo Page)
31 - Phoebis philea (Orange Barred Sulfur)
04 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
16 - Siproeta epaphus (Rusty-tipped Page)
25 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 562

Happy Thirteenth Birthday!!

2011-12-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today the Tropical Butterfly House celebrates its thirteenth year. As in the past, Animal Care staff has created a special fruitcake for the butterflies. Maida and Discovery Corp Intern, Natrice concocted the cool "cake" pictured above.

This year in an attempt to make the Butterfly House birthday a green event, we appealed to PSC staff for their "unwanted fruits - things that are no longer ideal for human consumption" but still edible to butterflies. The response was very successful.

So take a break from shopping today and visit the Tropical Butterfly House. You just might find a special guest!

Fresh Sheet – December 24, 2011

2011-12-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

This week’s shipments of pupae contain three species that send Animal Care staff to their taxonomy books: Archaeoprepona demophon, Archaeoprepona demophoon, and Prepona omphale . Come visit us and see if you can spot the differences!

And don’t forget to wish the Tropical Butterfly House “Happy Birthday” on December 26th. We’ll be open all day.

El Salvador

10 - Archaeoprepona demophoon (Hübner’s Prepona)
25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
12 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
12 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
20 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
25 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
20 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
25 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
40 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
15 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
15 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
25 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
25 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 369

Suriname

20 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
10 - Archaeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
05 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
40 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
24 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
06 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
15 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
05 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
15 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
40 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
05 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
05 - Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 639

“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.

A Festivus Miracle!

2011-12-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

It’s December 19th, and a favorite holiday among naked mole-rats is quickly approaching. That’s right, it’s almost Festivus!

As we shared in this blog story last year, the naked mole-rats presumably celebrate Festivus on the 23rd of December.

They observe the holiday with Feats of Strength,

Airing of Grievances,

and even a naked mole-rat-sized Festivus Pole.

This year, there is even a Festivus miracle! One of our two queens, Galinda, gave birth to a new litter of pups on Sunday night. As with other Festivus miracles, this is something that is easily explainable. Galinda has about five litters a year! This is pretty normal for her! Yet it is also something we anticipate with excitement and a little concern. The health of our queen is key to maintaining a healthy colony, and delivering pups is one of the most risky times for a mole-rat. Each successfully delivered litter truly is a moment to appreciate

With all naked mole-rat litters, there is a very high rate of mortality among the pups. The first few weeks of life for a baby naked mole-rat are extremely difficult. However, we are excited to see babies this time of year and hope for the best. We know from experience and communication with other facilities that there is no added care we can do to help the babies along. By keeping the colony and its queen healthy, we have done our part in the process and must give the colony a few quiet days to establish a bond with the pups. It is up to them now.

Fresh Sheet – December 17, 2011

2011-12-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

“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.

Philippines

67 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
03 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
10 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
80 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
80 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
30 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 470

Beautiful Birdwings

2011-12-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Last year, Life Sciences Volunteer Terry Pagos went to Colorado and visited one of our pupae suppliers, Rich Cowan, at LPS LLC (formerly London Pupae Supply). This import facility handles most butterfly pupae brought into the USA, sorting them for quality before sending them onto their final destinations. While there, Terry became fascinated with the beautiful birdwing butterflies. Too bad for Terry. Pacific Science Center did not have this species on its permit at the time.

It took many long months and a very fussy application before we were given USDA permission to fly birdwing butterflies, but at long last, they are arriving.

Last week in our LPS shipment, we received five pupae of the species, Ornithoptera priamus. These huge relatives of the more familiar swallowtail butterflies are found in parts of Australia, New Guinea, and Southeast Asia. They are not only large, but striking. Their wings are brilliant green and yellow on a black background. They also have unusual, bright yellow abdomens, and a single deep red spot on each side of the thorax.

Best of all, they are not at all shy. Because their larvae feed on the toxic plants of the Aristolochia family, these butterflies taste bad to predators, and they seem to know it. Their flight is slow and relaxed. They calmly feed mere inches from the fascinated viewer. The birdwing has an astounding wingspan of 18 cm, over 7 inches! We speak the truth when we say, this butterfly can only be appreciated in person.

The birdwings will take a few weeks to emerge, so we can’t predict exactly when they will be out for viewing, but we guarantee when you see them you will be impressed. Visiting gaudy, heat-loving butterflies in a fragrant, warm habitat is a great way to usher in the darkest days of the year. Stop by and visit!

Fresh Sheet – December 10, 2011

2011-12-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

The Tropical Butterfly House welcomes an exciting new butterfly species to our garden this week. Can you spot it on the lists below? Hint: This very large lepidoptera originally comes from the world’s second largest island.

Stay tuned. We’ll make a formal introduction soon.

LPS – LLC

20 - Argema mimosa (African Moon Moth)
02 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
10 - Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant)
08 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
10 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
11 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime)
10 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
10 - Euploea core (Common Crow)
40 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
05 - Ornithoptera priamus (New Guinea Birdwing)
40 - Papilio constantinus (Constantines's Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio demodocus (Orchard Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
40 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
15 - Papilio ophidicephalus (Emperor Swallowtail)
15 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
17 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger)

Total = 273

El Salvador

08 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
16 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
10 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
16 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
16 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
09 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
19 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
08 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
30 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
30 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
10 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
30 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
30 - Parides montezuma (Montezuma Cattleheart)
16 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
25 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
12 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 340

Grand Total = 613

“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.

Our New Arachnid

2011-12-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

Meet the newest resident of Pacific Science Center’s Insect Village – an African Amblypigid, Daman varigatus.

Also known as the whip scorpion, tailless whip scorpion, Tanzanian whip scorpion, cave spider, cave scorpion, amblypygid, or amblypygyd, our guy is not as scary as the names suggest. Amblypigids do not bite, sting, or pinch! Still, his ferocious appearance has made him famous. An amblypigid performed in the movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and yet another was an unusual meal on television’s “Fear Factor.”

Notice that unlike other arachnids, whip spiders only have six legs. One set of legs adapted into long feelers that allow the animal to sense their surroundings and find prey.

When you visit our African amblypigid exhibit, you may have to hunt around before spotting him. Perhaps he’ll be hiding in his cave?

Fresh Sheet – December 2, 2011

2011-12-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

With this week’s pupae shipment from Costa Rica, we received the above photo and the following note:

Today Ily made our ¨pasito.¨ It is in the entrance to our facilities. I think she really enjoys making it! It is very traditional to set the ¨pasito¨ at home or work.

Best,
Paola Vargas Salas
Costa Rica Entomological Supply

20 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
02 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
27 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
34 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
07 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
16 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
17 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
49 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
26 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
07 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
64 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
57 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
24 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
03 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
33 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
42 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
07 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)
24 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 479

“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.

Fresh Sheet - November 27, 2011

2011-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

“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.

Suriname

21 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
05 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
47 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
41 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
08 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
05 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
43 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
41 - Heraclides thoas (Giant Swallowtail)
24 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
52 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 302

Return of the Monarchs

2011-11-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Daneus plexippus, the Monarch butterfly, is perhaps the most recognizable resident in our Tropical Butterfly House. The species is famous for its seasonal migration and spectacular overwintering at specific sites in California and Mexico. In recent years Monarch migratory populations have been in decline – until now.

A fascinating article from the San Francisco Chronicle website reports on the increasing number of Western monarchs returning to their winter homes: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/22/DDCR1M167F.DTL

Thanksgiving weekend is when the annual Western monarch butterfly count takes place and so far, the preliminary numbers are very encouraging. To learn more about what you can do to attract Monarchs to your backyard visit The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation website.

Winterizing the Animals

2011-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

Pacific Science Center is a great place to spend a cold, blustery winter day. But once in a while, the weather becomes so bad that travel is not advised. During that past few winters, we have had at least one day each year when unsafe road conditions lead PSC to make the tough decision to remain closed. And while some exhibits can simply be turned on and off, the animals that live here need a little more care.

Pacific Science Center’s policy of alternative service helps us recruit a core group of emergency helpers. Every full time staff member must work 40 hours per year in some department other than their own. This helps departments understand each other’s work better and allows people to pitch in where help is needed most. In the case of snow coverage, we are looking for a very special group. These folks must live near enough to Pacific Science Center that they could safely walk in during a snow storm. They must also be comfortable working alone, must have a deep love of animals, and must show great attention to detail. A handful met all our criteria and began training.

Our animal care program has two main goals. One is to educate. For this, our animals must look their best, and be in surroundings that help our guests observe, wonder, and ask questions. The other, more basic, is to keep the animals themselves happy. On days when we are closed, we focus on meeting the life needs of the animals. We also want to ensure that caretakers who are trudging through the snow can finish with plenty of daylight to make a safe journey home.

In training these emergency caretakers, we covered some basic but important tasks; feeding the tide pool, releasing butterflies, feeding naked mole-rats, and ensuring that every animal is safe, happy and secure. The most likely problems that an emergency caretaker might encounter are low cage temperatures, empty water dishes, and perhaps an animal that finished off its food faster than we expected.

However, in Animal Care, we’ve learned to expect the unexpected. These folks will be working on their own and may encounter all kinds of unexpected situations. Help is only a phone call away, but only in the form of coaching and advice. We have full confidence that each of these new trainees will give the animals great care, and in return, we hope we give them an experience outside their daily job duties. Perhaps a few of them will even earn themselves a ballad.

Fresh Sheet – November 18, 2011

2011-11-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

If you like Papilio lowii (Sunset swallowtail), you’re going to love this week’s shipment from the Philippines!

Philippines

150 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
49 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
15 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
25 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
20 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
50 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
80 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
30 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
20 - Ideopsis juventa (Wood Nymph)
16 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
50 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 505

Fresh Sheet – November 12, 2011

2011-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

With the weather turning cold and the days growing shorter, now is a good time to visit the warmth and light of the Tropical Butterfly House.

El Salvador

30 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
10 - Colobura dirce (Mosaic butterfly)
25 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
14 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
20 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
30 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
30 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
30 - Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
20 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)

Total = 274

“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.

Lesson Learned

2011-11-09T14:03:00.000-08:00

On the morning of November 1, Cari Garand knew that something was not right with the naked mole rats. She saw immediately that they had pushed aside the tube leading into one of their chambers, and entered into the surrounding enclosure. But to Cari’s eyes, the amount of mess did not match with the single animal loose in the enclosure.

She followed the trail of bedding and found that there was more. Much more.

Following the exploits of our dispersing morph last year, the Animal Care department had made what we believed to be a comprehensive survey of the enclosure, to tighten up any crevices large enough for a mole-rat to climb through. But four enterprising (and small) individuals found a crack a bit larger than a tube of lipstick and managed to crawl out through it. On the other side, they encountered drywall board.

Lest anyone wonder which is stronger, be it known that drywall is no match for the teeth of a determined naked mole-rat. The wall was chewed into, and the animals entered into the space beyond.

Fortunately, the studding in the walls at Pacific Science Center is metal. When they encountered this, the mole rats were stymied, and spent the remainder of the night in the small cavity beneath the hole they had chewed.

Once she figured out where they were, Cari oversaw Lisa Marchisio’s careful removal of the wall board, and Adrian Eng retrieved the animals. Their temperatures were low from a night spent outside the climate controlled habitat, but they were otherwise healthy and unhurt.

Cari, along with Brianna Todd, made sure that all individuals were accounted for, and in good condition. We checked for injuries, made sure they were adequately hydrated, gradually returned them to ambient temperature, and returned them to their colony.

Then the real work began. The enclosure was scoured for crevices small enough to fit a pencil through. Only one was found, the one the four had used. It was sealed with Plexiglas which would take the colony days of solid chewing to breach.

The individual chambers were also secured more firmly in place, and the configuration of the chambers was moved around to provide stimulating enrichment. If the escape was due to boredom, mixing things up will help prevent future behavior issues.

Animal care is an interesting blend of optimism and pessimism. The caretaker must believe that they possess the skills to keep animals happy, secure and contained. But they must never assume that any animal will stay happy, secure and contained without ongoing investment of time and thought. The happy ending to this story does not mean that our work is done, it is an invitation for us to review our practices and look for further ways to improve them, so that future escapes are neither possible, nor made necessary through lack of stimulating habitat for the mole rats.

Food for Thought

2011-11-04T10:22:00.000-07:00

By Adrian Eng

For a lot of people like me, food isn’t just consumption of fuel but can often be an experience that invokes a variety of emotions. One of my favorite questions to ask people is, “What would your last meal on earth be?" For me personally, perfection comes as a plate topped with oblong mounds of rice and fresh raw fishes lying on top. Sushi is the ultimate in exotic food experiences, combining subtle flavors and unique textures. I can imagine each bite of sushi causes my brain to produce some sort of endorphin explosion.

So when I tell you how much I love sushi, you can get an idea of the kind of mixed emotions I had when I decided to attend the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program hosted at the Seattle Aquarium. The Seafood Watch program is a respected source for sustainable seafood information in the U. S. They work to inform consumers as well as collaborate with restaurants, parts of the fishing industry and other seafood businesses on sustainable fishing practices. As a consumer, I was very interested in learning about the food I was eating and understanding the kinds of impacts my decisions were making. But I was also very aware that at this point I was content eating without that knowledge. What was I going to learn and was it going to change my sushi experience?

Our guest speaker was Sheila Bowman, the Senior Outreach Manager for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. She did a great job offering details behind Seafood Watch Program, from its inception to some of their current practices and policies. Every selection on their National Sustainable Seafood Guide goes through rigorous researching and fact checking. They start by analyzing large amounts of data. This initial information undergoes months of review as it goes through the hands of fisheries, experts in the industries and leaders in the marine field. After the information gets refined it still goes through a series of revisions by expert peers before being published. A big part of their strategy is the program’s commitment to collaborating with every level of the fishing business. They work with consumers, restaurants, fish vendors, grocer‘s markets, fishing boats and seafood corporations. The Seafood Watch Program has gained traction and it shows in their long and growing list of partnerships.

So how does all of this information apply to the consumer? The first thing to do is ask the right questions: What do you know about your seafood? Was it farmed or wild-caught? Where was it caught or raised? How was it caught or farmed? Most importantly, is it being overfished?

The Seafood Watch list is very large and quite daunting. However, many of the items are not common in the regular American diet, so I encourage you to not be overwhelmed. Start by listing the types of fish that you usually consume. Familiarize yourself with where these fish fall on the chart. If they are listed in the “Good” or “Best” columns, continue to enjoy them. If they are in the “Avoid” column, try researching some good alternatives. There are plenty of resources available for this. The Seafood Watch Program has a website (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_aboutsfw.aspx?c=ln) that provides seafood recommendations, resources, recipes, partnership opportunities and current news. Pocket guides are available when shopping or ordering seafood and they now have a new cellphone app for the Android and iPhone to help you make good decisions when you’re eating out. Additionally, seafood products are starting to now offer sustainable approval seals.

I’m sure some people may think that it is a hassle to figure out which fish are good and which are bad. But the reality is that we regularly seek out information regarding all of the foods we consume every day. We make decisions on organic, cage free, fat free, low sodium, grass fed, processed, fortified and MSG free products. It’s important that we do the same with our seafood.

Nothing has changed about my passion for sushi. But I know that it’s going to take some adjusting to change how I regularly consume seafood. It is too hard for me to be ignorant to the dwindling resources of the sea and to eat without responsibility. I hope that we all take a little more initiative and help support this type of industry change. I urge you to find out what you’re eating and how your decision can make a difference. I personally will be tackling sushi Tuesdays at work with a little more insight and less consumption.

Breeding Butterflies

2011-11-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

Recently, Life Sciences manager Sarah Moore attended the International Conference of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers. This conference is held in a different location each year. In the past it has been held in Costa Rica, Switzerland, Malaysia and Ecuador. The locations may sound exotic, but to the people hosting them, they are home. The 2011 conference was held at Niagara Falls. Here is Sarah’s report.

Most of the time, when I tell people I work with butterflies, they are curious or a bit perplexed; but not the attendees of the International Conference of Butterfly Exhibitors and Suppliers. So it was a treat to spend a week with people who shared the job, duties, concerns, and joys of working with these delicate organisms.

During my visit, I was able to view a facility that raises many of their own butterflies through their entire life cycle. Since I am frequently asked why Pacific Science Center does not breed butterflies on site, I was especially curious to see the process and learn how much additional resources were involved. As it turned out, becoming a butterfly farmer is a serious endeavor.

The Butterfly Conservatory at Niagara Park has a state of the art butterfly breeding area adjacent to it. I spent so much time looking at this facility that I had to hurry through the wonderful butterfly house itself.

Butterflies never meet their offspring, but they put great care into securing appropriate food and habitat for them. A female butterfly will only lay her eggs on the correct plant material, at the correct stage of growth. There were several large, open rooms where host plant material is raised.

These plants are kept in semi-tropical temperatures – a big deal in chilly Niagara. Although to protect the butterflies, pesticides are never used, the plants were nevertheless in great shape and appeared free from any kind of unwanted insect.

Once the plant is large and strong, it is placed in a smaller flight cage where female butterflies are introduced. The butterflies mob the plants, laying eggs for 24 to 48 hours. The plants are then removed to another netted room, where once the eggs hatch out, additional plants are offered to the caterpillars as they grow.

These giant birdwing swallowtail caterpillars are especially hard to raise. They eat plants rich in toxic substances, which they use to make their own bodies distasteful. However, they can become sick from eating too much of the toxin.

In the wild, the caterpillars would chew around the base of the plant, girdling it, to prevent the flow of toxins up the branch. Then they would eat the leaves, and that section of the plant would die. In captivity, the plants are cut, aged in water and then supplied to the larvae. The stems are wrapped with netting to protect them from being chewed through.

But in the end, the birdwing butterflies are worth it. I hope to be able to order some of these spectacular butterflies in time for the holidays!

A good conference always leaves the participant’s head buzzing with possibilities. Could Pacific Science Center breed its own butterflies? Not with our current permits, and probably not with the resources available to us. Could we breed a few specimens to demonstrate the life cycle? This is a more realistic possibility, and one I will be exploring further.

Fresh Sheet – October 29, 2011

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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

10 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
15 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
15 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
20 - Doxocopa laure (Silver Emperor)
13 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
25 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
30 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
16 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
24 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
30 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
20 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
30 - Parides arcas (Arcas Cattleheart)
30 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
13 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
07 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 348

Suriname

20 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
15 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
10 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
15 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
05 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
15 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
40 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
15 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
10 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
20 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)
35 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 618

Tide Pool Bully

2011-10-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

What has five arms, wears leather, and is deadly (to sea anemones)?

When we first got our leather star (Dermasterias imbricate) we were impressed by its textured good looks and willingness to slide up into the handling area for inquiring hands to touch it. Although these echinoderms are known to eat sea anemones, we hoped that with ample food, it might suppress its predatory urges. But over time, a series of mysterious casualties were taking place in the tide pool. Sea anemones were disappearing or becoming damaged, with no evidence of human mishandling. Whatever other circumstances, the leather star was always lurking near the scene of the devastation. Animal Caretaker Cari Garand was able to put together the clues, and recommended we deal swiftly with the rogue sea star.

But now we ran into a problem. Pacific Science Center’s tide pool touch tank is considered a terminal facility. This means the department of Fish and Wildlife had determined that our animals couldn’t be returned to the sea. Because we feed our tide pool seafood from other regions, our animals could harbor shellfish virus or other pathogens, harmless to humans but that would make them more of a menace to beach wildlife than our leather star already was to our anemones.

Without the option of release in the wild, a tough decision lay before us. We could let the leather star go on destroying our anemone population, or we could destroy the leather star. Or was there a third way? While we worked out a plan, we removed the star from the exhibit area and isolated it in our filtration vat. Here, it could be fed and looked after without having access to our exhibit animals. Cari contacted Tim Carpenter, at Seattle Aquarium. He graciously agreed to accept the star, and provide a habitat where it would fit in better. All the paperwork was arranged, and on Oct. 25, Tim's assistant, Katie, completed the transfer.

The star had outgrown our little tide pool. We hope he finds it is better to be a small “fish” in a bigger pond.

Fresh Sheet – October 22, 2011

2011-10-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fans of the Atlas moth, Attacus atlas, will note that we have 15 cocoons in the emerging window this week.

Philippines

57 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
15 - Attacus atlas (Atlas Moth)
49 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
80 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
13 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
27 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
77 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
30 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
50 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 538

“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.

Name the Axolotls

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Pacific Science Center's Life Sciences team is happy to introduce you to our two newest axolotls.

These young animals were donated to us by a very dedicated young man who had raised them from hatchlings, and wanted to share his interest with others. * The taupe colored one is a natural pigmented axolotl. The other one is an albino. The skin color is pale because it lacks pigment. The pink color often visible in the eyes and extremities of albino animals comes from the blood, which can be seen through their skin. You may see some of this axolotl’s internal organs, too!

The new axolotls are much smaller than our three resident animals, so for now we are keeping them separated by a Plexiglas cage divider. They see and smell each other, but the young ones are safe from bullying or fights over food. We will gradually introduce them; most axolotls are able to get along well if they are otherwise well cared for.

Our new axolotls need names. The grownups are called Flopsy, Mopsy and Peter Cotton Gills. We do not need to stick with the Beatrix Potter theme, but would be open to the possibility. We also have not yet sexed these axolotls. Therefore, we need names that are good for male or female animals. What do you think are good names for them? We don't have a prize, but the best names will be used, which is prize enough!

*Pacific Science Center rarely accepts donations of animals. There are a few exceptions. We will always take in stick insects, and when an animal is a good fit for our existing needs, we will occasionally take other animals from carefully selected sources.

Fresh Sheet – October 15, 2011

2011-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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

30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
15 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
05 - Doxocopa laure (Silver Emperor)
04 - Hamadryas guatemalena (Guatemalan Calico)
25 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
10 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
20 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
12 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
19 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
12 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
25 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
15 - Parides arcas(Arcas Cattleheart)
12 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
14 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
16 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 279

LPS LLC

10 - Argema mimosa (African Moon Moth) KENYA
10 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing) MALAYSIA
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charexes) USA
09 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime) THAILAND
10 - Euphaedra neophron (Gold-banded Forester) USA
11 - Euploea core (Common Crow) THAILAND
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay) PHILIPPINES
40 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon) MALAYSIA
08 - Ideopsis vulgaris (Blue Glassy Tiger) MALAYSIA
10 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose) PHILIPPINES
30 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
30 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon) THAILAND
10 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail) KENYA
10 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail) MALAYSIA
30 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
30 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger) THAILAND
10 - Vindula dejone (Cruiser) MALAYSIA

Total = 278

Grand total = 557

A Butterfly’s-Eye View

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what a butterfly sees as it flies above the Tropical Butterfly House? During the recent annual cleaning of the butterfly house, a camera got a ride up in the scissor-lift with horticulturist, Jeff Leonard to get a “butterfly’s-eye view.”

Of course, we know that butterflies don’t have the same vision as a Nikkor zoom lens. Typical of most insects, butterflies have compound eyes, made up of thousands of tiny ommatidia. The ommatidia allow the butterfly to see in every direction at once, creating an image in the form of a mosaic. Butterflies’ can also recognize high frequency ultraviolet light. Without an ability to focus, butterflies might see flowers something like this*:

While we see something like this:

The following photographs are aerial views of the Tropical Butterfly House if butterflies had human vision or humans could fly above the foliage! Enjoy the ride!

* Artist’s Interpretation. Even butterflies of the same species don't see exactly the same colors.

Fresh Sheet – October 8, 2011

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Two seldom-seen species have arrived at the Tropical Butterfly House: Eryphanis polyxena, the Purple Mort Bleu Owl and Hamadryas laodamia, the Starry Calico. Check them out!

Costa Rica

15 - Agraulis vanilla (Gulf Fritllary)
02 - Anartia fatima (Banded Peacock)
37 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
16 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
07 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
08 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
17 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
53 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
35 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
02 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
40 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
07 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
25 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
06 - Hamadryas laodamia (Starry Calico)
24 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
37 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
38 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
44 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
15 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
11 - Siproeta epaphus(Rusty-tipped Page)
25 - Siproeta stelenes(Malachite)

Total = 504

“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.

Beetlemania

2011-10-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Pacific Science Center’s Life Sciences team just added an exciting group of insects to our exhibit area to enhance the collection we already have. What made these new insects special is the order they belong to – the coleoptera, or beetles. The beetles are a huge, successful group of insects, with over 350,000 species. Beetles can be recognized by their sheath-like forewings, or elytra, which protect the hind wings used in flight. All beetles have chewing mouthparts. Beyond that, their diet and habitats vary enormously.

Some are extremely specific, with one or a few key foods they can eat. Moneilema gigas, the cactus long horned beetle, is a great example of an insect whose body is adapted to a specific plant and habitat. Their long legs help them skirt around the sharp spines of cactus, and their slow movement and lack of flight reflect the life of an insect whose best defense if the plant they live on. Cactus long horned beetles chew on cactus, opening areas where they can lay eggs. The larvae mature inside the plant, and can be a serious pest to commercial cactus growers. Our beetles have started working their way through a nopal cactus paddle.

Meanwhile, in the water, all kinds of beetles are in action. Dineutus emarginatus, the whirligig beetles, skid along the top, often swimming in circles when they get excited. Adapted to the water’s surface, these beetles’ eyes are split, with half of each eye adapted to see through air and half adapted to see in the water.

Sunburst diving beetles and green diving beetles (genus Thermonectus) spend more of their time underwater, carrying a bubble of air under their elytra like a tiny scuba tank. Because insects breathe through spiracles in their abdomen, they don’t need air around their faces, meaning they can eat underwater. These colorful and energetic beetles are skilled hunters, often feeding on insects many times their size.

The water scavenger beetle, Hydrophilus triangularis, is safe from the smaller beetles because of its thick exoskeleton. It is free to roam about the tank, gleaning bits of uneaten food, both plant and animal.

These beetle species join an exhibit floor already rich in beetle diversity. Check out the dermestid beetles, which help the cycle that decomposes dead organisms back into the soil.

The familiar mealworms, which feed on various cereals, are really larval stage of the beetle tenebrio molitor.

The blue death feigning beetle, Cryptoglossa verrucosus, is one of our favorite exhibit insects. This desert dwelling insect rests on its back or sides, in a death-like posture that rivals our naked mole-rats in its realism. Yet they are one of the hardiest and longest lived creatures in our collection.

Rounding out our beetles, we are experimenting with a handful (not literally) of dung beetles, genus Canthon. These beetles spend most of their life cycle closely associated with dung, which they eat, roll, hide in and feed to their young. If we can display them in a way that does justice to their unusual diet, they may go out on exhibit in the near future.

Fresh Sheet – October 1, 2011

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Five hundred, sixty-five more beautiful butterflies from our friendly farmers in El Salvador and Suriname.

El Salvador

14 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
04 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
20 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
20 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
35 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
15 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
25 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
05 - Parides iphidamas (Iphidamas or Transandean Cattleheart)
20 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
20 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
07 - Siderone nemesis (Red-striped Leafwing)

Total = 295

Suriname

05 - Parides lysander (Lysander cattleheart)
40 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
20 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
05 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
05 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
05 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
25 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
40 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
10 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
05 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
05 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
05 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)
40 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 565

“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.

Frequently Asked Questions

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Frequently Asked Question #1: Can I ask you a question?

Answer: Yes! Please – ask another!

Animal Caretakers get asked a lot of questions – a lot of good questions! Here are some of our most popular.

FAQ #2: Are those snakes poisonous?

Answer: No, our snakes are not venomous. All of our snakes are constrictors, which means they squeeze their prey to death before they eat them. Our snakes don’t have to squeeze their food to death because we give them previously frozen rats. Dead prey is safer for the snakes because it can’t fight back and potentially injure them. Still, our constrictors squeeze their prey instinctively.

FAQ #3: Do you feed the naked mole-rats to the snakes?

Answer: No. The naked mole-rats are kept completely separate from the boa constrictors. Even though naked mole-rats sometimes die naturally, and the snakes would probably find them pretty tasty, we feel that we would be crossing a morbid line to offer our naked mole-rats up as food.

FAQ #4: Don’t sea anemones sting?

Answer: Not our Puget Sound sea anemones. You may feel a mild stickiness when you touch the anemone’s tentacles but that’s all. If you were a tiny sea creature, that stickiness would feel like a sting.

FAQ #5: Do naked mole-rats eat their babies? I think I saw one eating a baby!

Answer: Perhaps what you saw was a mole-rat eating a carrot? Unlike pet hamsters and other rodents in captivity, mole-rats rarely resort to cannibalism. In fact, when a mole-rat dies, it is more likely that the colony members bury them in the bedding.

FAQ #6: Are those the cockroaches they eat on “Fear Factor?”

Answer: Yes [sigh]. Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are said to be delicious and high in protein. Some cultures consider them a delicacy. But we would never eat just any insect without thorough knowledge of its safety. Some insects are toxic and they all carry germs!

FAQ#7: How do the naked mole-rats know that the potty chamber is their bathroom? They can’t read the sign!

Answer: What do you think? Do you have a cat? Does she go in a litter box? Have you noticed dogs like to go where other dogs have gone? It’s because of the smell, right? And if you look closely, you’ll notice our naked mole rat potty chambers are isolated with only one entrance. This keeps the smelly room away from their living areas. Mole-rats have an excellent sense of smell!

FAQ #8: Will the hermit crab bite me?

Answer: Well, it won’t bite you … but it may pinch you, and then just enough to hold on. It’s more likely that when you pick up a hermit crab, the little critter will scurry back into his shell. It’s afraid of you!

FAQ #9: Where is the naked mole-rats’ water bottle? My hamster has a water bottle in his cage.

Answer: They don’t need a water bottle or dish. Naked mole-rats live underground in dry desert conditions. They have adapted to get all their moisture from their food. Because they live in cramped tunnels, the humidity is very high. Their need for moisture is not the same as your hamster.

FAQ # 10: What are these things? Axo …??

Answer: Axolotls, “ak-suh-lot-l.” Although they look like big tadpoles, axolotls are actually amphibians that never go through metamorphosis. You probably won’t find them in the wild – they come from areas of Mexico that are heavily populated and they are nearly extinct in nature. Axolotls are studied for their ability to regenerate their limbs.

Any other questions?

Nancy's Photographs

2011-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

The following is a blog post by one of our faithful volunteers (former Animal Care Intern and former Discovery Corp member), Nancy. In addition to caring for our animals and helping guests to have positive experiences with our animal exhibits, Nancy spends some of her free time learning and working with Youth In Focus. Soon she begins her freshman year at the University of Washington.

Here, Nancy shares some of her best tips - for all you photography geeks and novices alike - to take great pictures inside the Tropical Butterfly House.

I’m guest blogger, Nancy Huizar, and I am a volunteer for the Animal Care department. Did you know you’re allowed to take photos of our butterflies in the Tropical Butterfly House? I do it all the time!

When the lighting is low, visitors are permitted to use flash. Personally, lighting isn’t a problem for me. Natural light flows into the butterfly house through the giant windows and works wonders. Not only does the architecture of the butterfly house help, but the layout helps me as well. There are different types of plants that the butterflies like to feed from and most of them are low enough for me to get some neat shots. There are also some fruit plates that are about hip level and make it easy to get some shots of Owl butterflies (Caligo memnon).

The hard part about photographing butterflies is timing. You may see a butterfly sticking to one flower but once you get the proper settings on your camera, it’s already gone. For me that’s the most frustrating part. I always shoot manual with a digital SLR or a film SLR. This means I adjust my own settings and I also manually focus. Sometimes I have my settings right but then the butterfly moves slightly and then I’m not in the right angle to get the shot I want. This isn’t always a bad thing. The photo could turn out better than you intended.

As far as equipment, I used a Sony A300 for all of these pictures. I have regular zoom lenses. I don’t own any macro lenses but I cheat sometimes and use filters that give my lenses some magnification.

I hope you enjoy my photos and go out to your garden or swing by Pacific Science Center to take some photos of your own.

Fresh Sheet – September 22, 2011

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Come visit our bright, shiny, newly cleaned Tropical Butterfly House (Thanks, Jeff and Maida!) when we reopen September 24. The latest shipment of pupae is eclosing now in the Emerging Window.

Philippines

30 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
40 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
50 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
42 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
50 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
80- Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
15 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
20 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
80 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 507

“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.

Mole-rats Get Inked

2011-09-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

If someone told you a naked mole-rat was getting a tattoo, would you imagine something like this?

Do you get images of pink rodents donning biker gear and going a bit wild? While this would make a colorful blog article, the truth is almost as interesting and a bit more plausible.

Why we needed a marking system

Pacific Science Center’s animal care staff keeps individual weight and health records for each naked mole-rat in the colony. This involves capturing and weighing them, but it also requires us to color mark each animal each time we weigh them. Over the course of a few weeks, the markings fade and identifying the mole-rats becomes a time consuming and stressful task for both the markers and the mole-rats. After a few years of the color marking method, we began to wonder if there were a more permanent marking system that would allowed us to recognize each animal at a glance.

What we chose

Tattooing fit the description, but there were some down-sides to it as well. It is more invasive than marking on the skin. Also, because most tattoo colors fade or look similar, we would be limited to only using black ink. The benefits, however, outweighed the risks. We chose a date during our annual closure in September and scheduled a mass inking session with our vet, Dr. Maas of The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine.

The tattooing process

After being weighed and positively identified, each naked mole-rat was briefly anesthetized for the procedure using isoflurane gas. Their skin was cleaned, and dots of ink were injected under the skin in key areas that would allow us to recognize the individual and give us details about his or her identity.

After tattooing, the animal’s skin was cleaned again and treated with antibiotic ointment. The mole-rats were monitored as they came out of anesthesia and then returned to the exhibit.

All seem to be doing well.

What each mark means

The animals in our colony range in age from over 15 years old, to pups born in August of this year. During that time, there have been several queens with successful offspring who are now part of the colony. We wanted our markings to help us keep track of which mole-rats came from which mother, and how old the various animals are.

The number of spots on the back of the neck indicates who the animal’s mother was. The spots on the rump allow us to identify which litter they are part of.

For individual identification, male mole-rats were marked on a left limb, females on the right. We used combinations of one or two spots on the front or hind limb, so that each animal could have a unique marking.

How the animals handled the experience

By day’s end, the naked mole-rats were fully recovered from anesthesia and were back in the colony chamber. Galinda had been briefly separated from her most recent pups, born in late August. But when she was returned to the colony, they recognized her immediately and started to nurse. We watched the mole-rats closely for signs that the ink sites were itchy or painful, but all appeared well.

By the next morning, the ink spots had spread slightly from when they were first injected. Dr. Maas predicted that they would first enlarge, and then fade slightly into distinct spots. We will monitor the colony closely for any complications, but for now it appears that the tattoos are healing well and will serve to identify the individuals in the colony for years to come.

The Tropical Butterfly House Tour

2011-09-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

Last week, Life Sciences Manager Sarah Moore was the guest speaker at the Washington Butterfly Association’s monthly meeting. For those who were unable to attend, the following PowerPoint presentation is provided without audio.

We hope this quick tour will satisfy everyone’s yearning to visit the Tropical Butterfly House until September 23, when we reopen to the public.

New Tobacco Hornworms

2011-09-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Pacific Science Center’s Life Sciences team is always looking for new species to add to our collection. Recently, we tried out some tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta, also called hawkmoths, sphinx moths or hummingbird moths in the adult stage) to see whether we could rear them, and whether they would be of interest on exhibit. The results were quite successful.

The Tropical Butterfly House has done a wonderful job for the last 12 years of displaying chrysalids and adult butterflies. However, our USDA permits are strict about not allowing caterpillars inside the exhibit space. Anyone who has ever read, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” should understand that caterpillars eat a lot of food, and produce a lot of waste. They can also be a vector of butterfly diseases or parasites that could potentially harm native species if they were to get out of the butterfly house. Since the USDA does not regulate hornworms, we were able to raise the caterpillars in a separate, controlled environment (a cage), and then release the moths into the butterfly house. We were excited to see how they would do.

Our hornworms ate well and grew. We offered them potato, a relative of tobacco, which is their normal host plant. They loved it, and continued to grow. After they were finished growing, the hornworms pupated.

They looked much like other pupae we have seen, except for the large, handle-like proboscis that reaches across the head and thorax of the pupa. Manduca moths have a very long proboscis. They are powerful flyers, and have the unique ability to hover while probing their long proboscis deep into flowers to get the best nectar.

Hornworms normally live on the leaves of tobacco and related plants. When they pupate, they burrow into the soil below. We prepared “burrows” in a block of wood, so that they could feel secure but still be visible to our guests. Once the first moth emerged, we released it into the butterfly house where it made itself at home.

Our moth has proven long-lived and spectacular in flight. She even appears to be friendly. When we first released her into the butterfly house, she landed on a guest right away. According to the guest, she had found the pocket where he stored his cigarettes. This makes sense for a species that has “tobacco hornworm” as one common name. The scent may have reminded her of her host plant!

The Tropical Butterfly House will be closed for the next few weeks for our annual cleaning, but we will try to keep the hornworms on exhibit throughout the fall. If you come to see us, look for the bright green caterpillars on display in the Insect Village. Please be aware that the hawkmoths are sometimes hard to see inside the butterfly house. They are nocturnal, and are great at camouflaging during the day. Still, if you do happen to see one, it’s a wonderful and exciting treat.

No Fresh Sheet - September 3, 2011

2011-09-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Guests may notice that the emerging window in the Tropical Butterfly House is looking a bit sparse.

In preparation for Life Sciences' annual "Big Clean" during Pacific Science Center's closing September 12 - 23, we have suspended pupae shipments. When we reopen to the public we'll have a full window of emerging pupae. So plan your visit then, and meet our newest residents!

Late Summer Tide Pool Collecting

2011-08-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Cari Garand and Wendy Hanson did an end of summer tide pool collecting trip, along with volunteer John Aurelius who generously lets Pacific Science Center collect from his beach at Indianola.

Trained beach naturalists, Cari and Wendy collected carefully, taking only organisms allowed on our permit, and leaving animals as they found them if they could not be used in our tide pool exhibit.

Here are the animals that Cari and Wendy brought back:

Hermit crabs: 15

Mottled Star: smaller ones, 4

Shrimp: 2 very little

Limpets: no large ones, but many small ones came in attached to other animals

Painted Anemone: 1

Aggregating Anemone: 4 mostly came attached to stuff

Moon Snail Egg Cases: 3

Barnacle covered rocks: 10

Chitons: 3, 2 bigger mossy or possibly hairy ones and one small lined

Snails: 8

In addition to the animals we might expect from a collection, our team spotted a bunch of the coolest looking items we’ve seen! The gelatinous, finger like objects are squid egg cases, and you can actually see the baby squids floating around inside the case.

Of course, Cari and Wendy wished they could bring some of these cases back, but knew that our system would not support such large, free swimming predators as mature squids. So the cases stayed on the beach.

Cari and Wendy used their professional experience to assess which animals would work best in our Puget Sound Salt Water Tide Pool. But being professional does not mean the collectors didn’t feel the wonder and excitement of being on a beach.

We encourage everyone to visit one of our local beaches, and spend time getting to know Puget Sound better. Bring your camera; you never know what amazing pictures may be out there.

Fresh Sheet – August 27, 2011

2011-08-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Philippines

50 -Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
30 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
14 - Papilio hipponus (Hipponus Swallowtail)
100 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
08 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
18 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
78 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
20 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
50 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 568

“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.

The Number One Question About Naked Mole Rats

2011-08-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Everything about naked mole rats is fascinating, and Pacific Science Center’s staff are eager to chat about them. Want to know about eusocial behavior? These mammals are a great example. Excited about the latest pups? So are we! Have you followed the adventures of the dispersing morph and want help finding him? Maybe we can help.

But before we can answer any of these questions, we have to address another question, one more urgent:

“Are some of the animals dead?”

We get this question daily, often several times per day. Adult naked mole rats have long life expectancies, and the death of a grown colony member is an extremely rare event for us. So why do we get so many reports of dead animals, and how can a casual viewer separate the living from the dead?

Naked mole rats’ metabolism is adapted to the low oxygen and stable temperature of an underground tunnel. Their respiration and heart rate are lower than one would expect for such a small animal. Thus, there are fewer signs of life to begin with!

Their greyish skin is a second contributor. To many people, the color has an unhealthy appearance, but pinkish grey is the natural color of a healthy naked mole rat.

Additionally, naked mole rats have a habit of sleeping in very relaxed positions. They often stretch out on their backs, with legs splayed in the air, for a long, motionless, deep sleep. Their favorite snoozing spots are over heat exchange ducts. Sleeping naked mole rats will tolerate other animals walking over them, and even kicking them, often showing little or no response.

Small wonder, then, that a grey, motionless, splayed out form would appear lifeless.

We have a few pointers for observing possibly “dead” mole rats before jumping to conclusions.

• If they are in a tube over a heat duct, watch them closely. Animals go here for their deepest sleep, and often lie motionless. When another animal crawls over them, you may see subtle signs of life – a twitch or flexing of muscle. That’s all you need to know they’re ok

• If they are pink and grey, this is a good sign. In the rare cases where an animal has been found dead, it was discolored, with purple extremities.

• Naked mole rats often rest on their backs and spread their legs out. This is a sign of relaxation. An animal that has died would more likely be rigid, rather than relaxed.

• Colony members are not tolerant of dead mole rats in their chambers. They would not ignore or walk over a dead colony mate, but would attempt to drag the animal to the most remote area of the enclosure. So if you see a mole rat being stepped on, it is probably alive.

• This is not a pleasant subject, but in the warm air of the colony, a naked mole rat that had perished would begin to deteriorate rapidly. Their stomach contents and skin would begin to fill with gases, and the animal would appear bloated.

We are always ready to check out any report of possible unhealthy or dead animals, but we also want to minimize the number of times we disturb animals that are simply resting. With so many people viewing our exhibits, it is often a visitor who sees a problem first and reports it. We hope with these criteria, that you have a better idea of when help is needed, and when a mole rat is just enjoying a nap.

Fresh Sheet – August 21, 2011

2011-08-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sixteen of the 607 pupae we received this week for the Tropical Butterfly House are not even butterflies! That’s right, they’re moths! Come see all our Lepidopteran species!

El Salvador

35 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
32 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
05 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
09 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
32 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
12 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
25 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
20 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
50 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
25 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
32 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
20 - Archeoprepona demophoon (One-spotted Prepona)
08 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 305

LPS LLC

16 - Argema mimosa (African Moon Moth) KENYA
10 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant) THAILAND
10 - Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant) THAILAND
10 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant) THAILAND
04 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing) PHILIPPINES
10 - Charaxes brutus (White-barred Charaxes) KENYA
03 - Charaxes castor (Giant Charaxes) KENYA
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charaxes) KENYA
10 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charexes) KENYA
09 - Charaxes violetta (Violet-spotted Emperor) KENYA
10 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf) PHILIPPINES
10 - Euploea core (Common Crow) THAILAND
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay) PHILIPPINES
40 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon) PHILIPPINES
10 - Ideopsis vulgaris (Blue Glassy Tiger) MALAYSIA
10 - Papilio dardanus (Mocker Swallowtail) KENYA
20 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon) THAILAND
10 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail) KENYA
05 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock) PHILIPPINES
20 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
10 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
10 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper) PHILIPPINES
10 - Parthenos sylvia violaceae (Violet Clipper) MALAYSIA
05 - Pseudacraea lucretia (False Chief) KENYA
10 - Salamis anacardii (Clouded Mother Of Pearl) KENYA
10 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger) THAILAND

Total = 302

Grand Total = 607

“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.

It’s all part of the job!

2011-08-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

By Sarah Moore, Life Sciences Manager

Once in a while, an appointment on my calendar is so bizarre that even I wonder what kind of job I signed up for. This whole week is full of them. This week, I will “walk around picking up trash”, and check to make sure that the “butterfly cart gets restocked”. In one wacky day I have a 9:00 am “wild oceans adventure” a 10:00 am “discuss cockroach pigment with Brigid” and a 10:30 am “mist snake heads with Holly”. I end the week with “mole-rat cam follow up”.

So what do all these silly meeting topics really mean? Some of them are fairly mundane. Walk around picking up garbage is just that. Each week, a team led by our horticulture staff, Jeff and Maida, walks the grounds, cleaning up litter. We like to keep things looking their best. Some trends we have noted: people are becoming more conscientious about correctly disposing of food wrappers and bags. However, smokers, gum chewers and dog walkers can make a huge difference by packing out their litter.

Our Tropical Butterfly House is full of lovely butterflies, each with a brief but glorious two week life span. When they die, many butterfly’s wings are still colorful and pretty. Rather than destroy these intact and valuable items, we prepare them for a second existence in our Butterfly Discovery Cart, where children get to observe, appreciate, and even touch a butterfly wing.

Wild Oceans Adventure is a summer camp offered by our camp program. One of the activities campers get to enjoy is watching and participating in a tide pool feeding. Kids learn how animals eat in the wild, how we care for them here, and how to be a respectful guest next time the visit a beach.

Why on earth am I discussing cockroach pigment? There is a rumor among new staff and volunteers, that our Madagascar hissing cockroaches get more pigment and grow darker as they age. No one knows where this unverified fact began. Since it is essentially a new hypothesis, we don’t have any data on whether it is true. Brigid, who supervises our Discovery Corps program is interested in running an experiment to see what really happens.

Holly, our Presentation Supervisor, and I have been tasked with analyzing our snake handling practices, to make sure we have all possible safety measures in place. Since we know that most snake bites are related to feeding accidents, we wanted to develop a clear protocol to let snakes know when they were going to be handled but not fed. One way to do this is to lightly mist water on the snake’s face before handling. This may sound unpleasant, but our snakes relish water in nearly any form, and would develop a pleasant, but non-food related association between a refreshing mist of water and an upcoming presentation. This is in theory. Holly and I want to prototype the process and see how the snakes really react before letting our staff do it.

I’m going to let my last appointment, “discuss mole-rat cam” hang out there as a teaser for now. This article is already long enough, and I hope to have a full story on the cam in the near future.

Fresh Sheet – August 13, 2011

2011-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Costa Rico

16 - Agraulis vanilla (Gulf Fritllary)
08 - Archeoprepona demophoon (One-spotted Prepona)
10 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
08 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
08 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
08 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
24 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
07 - Chlosyne janais (Crimson Patch)
41 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
21 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
22 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
21 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
17 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
08 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
07 - Hamadryas guatemalena (Guatemalan Calico)
19 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
08 - Heliconius clysonymus (Clysonymus Longwing)
16 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
24 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
04 - Heliconius eleuchia (Eleuchia longwing)
31 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
09 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
12 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
25 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
41 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
30 - Papillio anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
04 - Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
13 - Philaethria dido (Scarce Bamboo Page)
21 - Phoebis philea (Orange Barred Sulfur)
07 - Siproeta epaphus (Rusty-tipped Page)
27 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 517

“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.

Blacklighting!

2011-08-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

by Brianna Todd, Lead Animal Caretaker

Last week, I wrote a blog about my awesome trip to Rio Rico, Arizona for the Insects in Education and Conservation Conference. I learned and saw a lot during that trip, but there was one conspicuous story that I didn't mention at all. It was definitely the craziest thing I witnessed on the trip, and for that reason it merits its own story.

Have you ever heard of blacklighting? If you know an entomologist, mention blacklighting to them and watch their eyes light up. Like I said in my previous article, I am not a bona-fide entomologist, so I had never heard of it before I went on this trip. It was about six hours into our "afternoon excursion" that the term "blacklighting" caught my attention. It went something like this;

Serious entomologist guy: "You know, we've seen a lot of bugs today, but I feel like we saw more last year."
Trip leader: "Yeah, but wait until it gets dark. Then we can start blacklighting and the bugs will start swarming."
Me (sweaty, blistered, exhausted): "Say what? Dark? Black lights? Swarming bugs???" Fortunately I didn't say any of this out loud or I may have been banned from entomology for life.

This was the point when I realized I was in for the long haul, and that those sack dinners we had packed weren't for "just in case". When you find yourself out in the middle of the Sonoran desert, and your only ride home is a team of entomologists who couldn't be happier if it was Christmas morning, it's usually best to just go with the flow. That's what I discovered. Sure, I was tired and hot, among other things, but I was about to witness something bizarre and spectacular.

As dusk started to settle in, it was time to set up. I watched while the rest of the group set up two black light stations, each consisting of a white sheet jury-rigged across two poles, and a large black-light propped up in front of the sheet. The entomologists got their cameras and specimen jars ready, and started to stare at the sheets intently. A few bugs began to land on the sheet, mostly tiny beetles and moths. When I stated that that was kind of cool, I was interrupted with a promise, "This isn't even 10% of what we'll get." So we waited a bit longer.

Within 30 minutes or so, I started to understand what everyone was talking about. Giant beetles of all sorts of colors and sizes were flocking to the sheet, unable to resist the lure of the black light. Huge, beautiful moths showed up to the party next. I was excited to see some massive damselflies too, which I learned are the adult form of ant lions. I was told by a few blacklighting veterans that sometimes they've even witnessed tarantulas and scorpions making their way across the base of the sheet and having a field day with all of the free food we've collected for them.

Within an hour, the sheets were totally covered in bugs. A few interesting specimens were captured by entomologists for their collections, but mostly folks just took pictures. Standing next to the sheet, I felt like I was in a hailstorm of bugs as they constantly hurled themselves into my face and arms on their mission to reach the black light. Still, with the level of enthusiasm and awe exhibited by the rest of my group, it was hard not to catch their excitement. It truly was like nothing I've ever seen before. I'm glad I was forced to stay.

What?

2011-08-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

Who are these people and what are they doing?

Here's a clue. Stay tuned!

Fresh Sheet – August 6, 2011

2011-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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

30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
25 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
20 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
10 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
12 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
40 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
40 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
20 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
20 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
25 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 362

Suriname

41 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
23 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
44 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
10 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
11 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
40 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
40 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
06 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
12 – Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
05 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)
48 - Prepona demophoon (One-spotted Prepona)
12 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 292

Grand Total = 654

I Whip My Net Back and Forth*

2011-08-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

By Brianna Todd, Lead Animal Caretaker

Last week I was lucky to attend the 2011 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference in Rio Rico, Arizona. Life Sciences Department Manager Sarah Moore usually attends this conference, and every year that she goes, I wonder, “Who would want to go to southern Arizona at the end of July?” I was still wondering this same question as I boarded the plane to Tucson.

It turns out this is the best time of year for seeing and catching bugs. Every summer Arizona goes through a monsoon season. Torrential downpours arrive almost every afternoon, last for about 30 minutes or so, and then disappear as the temperature creeps back up into the 100’s. These rains are vital to the Sonoran desert ecosystem, and they’re also helpful for entomologists looking for cool bugs that have been washed out of their hiding places. Although I work with bugs pretty much every day, I am not an entomologist, nor would I identify myself as a “bug geek”. So I was a little trepidatious heading into this conference, but I thought at least it would be a good learning experience.

The first evening of the conference included a welcoming reception, with a keynote address by Dr. Mark Moffett. If you have not heard of Dr. Moffett, you might recognize him by his alter ego, Dr. Bugs. He is a research associate for the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a contract photographer for National Geographic. In his career he has written over 20 articles for National Geographic and published more than 500 images in that magazine. I was lucky to see Dr. Moffett speak a couple of years ago when he was a part of the National Geographic Lecture Series. On that occasion, I saw him speak to a crowd of about 2000 people at the home of the Seattle Symphony, Benaroya Hall. I was definitely excited to see him in this much more intimate venue of about 120 people, and he didn’t disappoint.

After the reception, the conference was in full swing. Each day began with a series of paper sessions presented by conference attendees. Presentation topics ran the gamut from how to create cage labels that catch visitors’ attention, to the husbandry of Tanzanian tailless whip scorpions (Damon variegatus), to the effort to reintroduce the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) to portions of its former habitat. All of the presentations that I saw were excellent. They gave me plenty of new ideas for ways to improve our invertebrate cages, and they provided me with some insight into the way similar institutions operate on a day-to-day basis.

In the afternoons, we had a variety of activities to choose from depending on the day. On the first afternoon, I attended a field trip, organized by Jim Melli of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This field trip was called, “Border Bugs”, and as the name suggests, we hovered right around (but not over) the Mexican border. Rio Rico is just 10 miles from the border, directly north of Nogales. Coming from the complete opposite side of the country, it was definitely an otherworldly experience to find myself wandering about in this ecological and political environment. As we roamed the deserts and the scrubs, far out in the middle of nowhere, the Border Patrol pickups and planted water jugs gave the expedition a totally eerie vibe.

In addition to the field trip, I also attended a couple of workshops on different afternoons. In one of these workshops Wade Harrell from Phylum Studios gave us some great ideas for designing cage props out of recycled Styrofoam. This was probably one of the most useful things I learned throughout the conference and I’m excited to start making some new props for our cages here.

On the final day of the conference, I was scheduled to give my own presentation for the morning paper sessions. After a few days of observing other folks’ impeccable work, I was more than a little nervous. The topic of my presentation was our Saltwater Tide Pool. Although much of the talk at the conference centered around terrestrial invertebrates, many people were excited to hear about their marine cousins. In my presentation, I talked mainly about the Ocean Acidification Cart, which is a new interactive floor component that lets cart performers tie together some important neighboring exhibits, including the tide pool, the carbon monitoring station, and the Science on a Sphere . By learning about the processes of ocean acidification, visitors can start to understand how different components of our world rely on and affect each other. The presentation was a success and I received a lot of compliments and interest in our curriculum after it was over. I was also happy to be done with it.

After the conference, just before flying back home, I was lucky enough to see the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, and even luckier to be able to go on a behind the scenes tour. They have a ton of animals at this museum (all of them local)! I could have stayed there for hours, but I had a flight to catch (and it was 110 degrees). Although this was part of an invertebrate conference, I have to say the highlight of the museum trip for me was definitely the rattlesnakes. I have a healthy fear of these animals, but it was still very exciting to see some of these beautiful and dangerous creatures up close.

As I boarded the plane to head back to Seattle, I couldn’t help thinking about coming back next year. I am a newbie to the world of professional conferences, but this one offered plenty of good people, great animals, and beautiful scenery. I might be a bug geek after all.

*A line from the pop song (“I Whip My Hair Back And Forth”) that was parodied by a pair of rapping entomologists in a performance they made on the last night of the conference.

Fresh Sheet – July 30, 2011

2011-07-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

Five hundred eleven more reasons to visit Pacific Science Center!

Philippines

06 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
15 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
80 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
42 - Papilio hipponus (Hipponus Swallowtail)
80 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
20 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
60 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
50 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
50 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
08 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
80 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 511

“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.

Fresh Sheet – July 23, 2011

2011-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Tropical Butterfly House will be full of Tigers soon – Tiger Leafwings, Tiger Longwings and Large Tigers – not to mention Leopard Lacewings! Can you tell them apart?

El Salvador

25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
07 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
08 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
60 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
80 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
40 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Prepona=Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Prepona=Archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 350

LPS LLC

05 - Argema mimosa (African Moon Moth)
10 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
10 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
20 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charexes)
30 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
10 - Junonia atlites (Gray Pansy)
10 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
10 - Papilio constantinus (Constantines's Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio dardanus (Mocker Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
20 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
10 -Parthenos sylvia lilacinus (Blue Clipper)
20 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
10 - Parthenos sylvia violaceae (Violet Clipper)
10 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger)

Total = 225

Grand Total = 575

“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.

Fresh Sheet – July 16, 2011

2011-07-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

Another 517 pupae have arrived from Costa Rica this week. Is your favorite butterfly among them?

Costa Rica

17 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
08 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
08 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
23 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
09 - Chlosyne janais (Crimson Patch)
42 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
30 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
23 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
10 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
27 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
45 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
13 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
46 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
59 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
38 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
27 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
44 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
10 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Siproeta stelenes(Malachite)

Total 517

“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.

Fresh Sheet – July 9, 2011

2011-07-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Come, check out this week’s shipments of pupae from sustainable butterfly farms in Central and South America.

Suriname

05 - Parides lysander (Lysander cattleheart)
35 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
05 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
08 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
40 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
20 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
32 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
40 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)

Total = 270

El Salvador

24 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
15 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
10 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
80 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
40 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
08 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio pilumnus (Three-tailed Swallowtail)
15 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
10 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 307

Grand Total = 577

“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.

Rosie the Riveting

2011-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last week we received a frantic report from Pacific Science Center’s Science Interpretation Department. Rosie, our beloved Chilean Rose-Hair Tarantula was dead! When asked how they knew she was dead, the observer reported that she was upside down, with all eight of her legs sticking straight up into the air. Obviously she must be dead, right? Right?

We’ll share the good news first. Rosie was not dead. She was getting ready to molt. Like other arthropods, tarantulas molt, or shed, their exoskeleton as they grow. As an adult, Rosie will usually molt about once a year. Younger tarantulas molt much more frequently to accommodate their rapid growth.

The Life Sciences department was actually anticipating molting activity from Rosie. We had noticed a few months ago that her color was getting dark and dull, and the hairs on her abdomen were becoming sparser. When tarantulas are ready to molt, they usually prefer to be in a dark, moist, and safe habitat. Because we noticed that Rosie was at this stage, we decided to move her off exhibit to give her more privacy.

This move worked well because it was just at the same time that we were gearing up for the Goosebumps exhibit and we had just acquired a second tarantula that could take her place. So Carmen, the beautiful new tarantula, went out into the Insect Village while Rosie took her time in the back. We had hoped she would molt before the Goosebumps exhibit opened, but she just wasn’t ready yet. When the exhibit opened, we set her up in a new cage and offered her extra heat and an enclosed burrow for whenever she decided she was ready.

Finally the day came that she flipped herself upside down, a telltale sign that a spider is about to molt, but also a possible indication that a spider is dead. This is an extremely delicate and dangerous time for a spider, so we couldn’t probe her to make sure she was alive. All we could do was cross our fingers and hope for the best. Sure enough, when we came in the next morning, we found a beautiful new Rosie. She’s back to her pretty rose color for which she was named, and she’s flush with healthy hair. In fact, she’s so beautiful now, she’s giving Carmen a run for her money.

Come see Rosie and some of her other spooky (but beautiful friends) for a limited time in the Goosebumps exhibit. There’s nothing to be scared of!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Spring

2011-07-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

Normally, Pacific Science Center’s bee keeper orders new colonies of bees in mid April, raises them in conventional hives until May, and installs them near the middle of that month.

This year, due to cool, wet weather, the schedule kept getting pushed back, but finally in June we had enough warmth to risk taking the bees out of their boxes and transferring them to the observation hive.

There are risks to the bees as we transfer their comb from one place to another. Cold air can chill the larvae, or brood, developing in the cells. If badly chilled, brood may be killed. We chose the warmest day we could, but it was still below the 60 degrees we would have hoped for. We worked carefully to avoid crushing bees between the frame and the glass covers on the observation hive, and transferred the entire structure even more carefully. Dropping it would have resulted in broken glass, escaping bees, the loss of the entire colony – not to mention honey on the carpet.

The observation hive is installed above an exit tube allowing the bees to come and go. From there they fly around Seattle Center’s grounds, seeking nectar and pollen producing plants. In case they couldn’t find much, we placed a jar of sugar water near the entrance to the comb, inside a weather proof box. The bees can survive on this syrup until they become established, at which point the nectar from locally grown lavender, ceanothus, butterfly bush, and other garden plantings will sustain them.

During the month to six weeks the bees spent in a hive box before we got them, they were given several preventive treatments. Traces of one such treatment can be seen on the side of the hive facing the butterfly house. The waxed paper between two of the frames was originally topped with a mixture of shortening and powdered sugar. As the bees transported this substance, it coated their skins, making them more resistant to the tracheal mites that are among the many pests and diseases troubling modern beekeepers and their bees.

So far the bees are adjusting well. Their brood is developing correctly, with no sign of being chilled. Workers are actively entering and leaving, and new food is being collected and stored. We wish our bees success!

Fresh Sheet – July 1, 2011

2011-07-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Swallowtails, swallowtails, swallowtails, swallowtails and a whole lot of other butterflies will soon be emerging in our window at the Tropical Butterfly House.

Philippines

10 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
15 - Danaus chrysippus (Plain Tiger)
06 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
03 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
80 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
73 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
80 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
02 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
13 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
79 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
30 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)

Total = 391

“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.

Two Batches of Babies!

2011-06-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we posted a birth announcement for Galinda. Four of her pups had made it past the critical first five days of life, and were on track toward growing up healthy and strong. Now five weeks old, they are still doing well, and we have some further news to share.

As long time fans of our naked mole-rat colony are aware, we are in the very unusual position of having two reproductive females. While not unknown, this situation usually resolves through fighting, but in our case seems to have become a stable long term configuration.

It was still a surprise to see a visibly pregnant Elphaba nursing some of Galinda’s pups, as Brianna observed on June 16. This was the first time we have ever observed pups nursing, with seeming success, on an individual other than their mom. Although the mammary glands of all naked mole-rats become well developed near the end of the queen’s pregnancy, we could find no reports of actual milk being produced, let alone of animals providing milk for pups other than their own. Elphaba appears to be doing something never before seen.

Nursing from two females is clearly beneficial for the pups. They gain extra nutrition, and create a social bond with Elphaba while still having the milk and attention of their own mother.

It is a little more puzzling what Elphaba gains. On the face of it, in fact, she appears to be losing nutrients and possibly risking her own litter. Nursing can cause the release of oxytocin, a powerful hormone related to childbirth and parent/infant bonding. Nursing another animals’ pups could lead to her pups being born prematurely, and it certainly is taking resources she would normally be giving to her own offspring. At this point we do not have a clear understanding of why this nursing took place, though it is certainly interesting to observe and speculate.

What is clear is that nursing another female’s babies did not prevent Elphaba from producing at least some viable pups. She gave birth on the June 17th. Two of the pups from that litter survived the critical 5-day mark and have past day ten. From all appearances, they are growing and developing right on track!

Fresh Sheet -- June 24, 2011

2011-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

“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 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
10 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
12 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
08 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
20 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
80 - Morpho peleides(Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
15 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
15 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
12 - Papilio pilumnus (Three-tailed Swallowtail)
15 - Prepona demophon(Two-spotted Prepona)
07 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 314

LPS - LLC

10 - Argema mimosae (African Moon Moth)
28 - Cethosia cyaneLeopard Lacewing
10 - Charaxes castor (Giant Charaxes)
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charaxes)
07 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
30 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly)
08 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
30 - Papilio constantinus (Constantines's Swallowtail)
20 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Swallowtail)
30 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
01 - Papilio ophidicephalus (Emperor Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio polytes (Polite swallowtail)
21 - Parthenos sylvia lilacinus (Blue Clipper)
21 - Parthenos sylvia philppensis (The Clipper)
04 - Salamis anacardii (Clouded Mother Of Pearl)

Total = 250

Grand Total = 564

Fresh Sheet – June 18, 2011

2011-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

Three kinds of Owls and all sorts of Longwings arrived this week from Costa Rica. Come, check them out!

Costa Rica

08 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
08 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
16 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
18 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
10 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
22 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
17 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
10 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
27 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
27 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Calico)
20 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
21 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
27 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
29 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
21 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
29 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
27 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
18 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
42 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
13 - Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
13 - Philaethria dido (Scarce Bamboo Page)
17 - Phoebis argente (Apricot Sulfur)
21 - Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur)
26 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 517

“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.

Never Stumped

2011-06-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

“Plant down, we have a plant down!”

This is a walkie-talkie call you don’t often hear at Pacific Science Center.

But when wet soil, snow and rough winds toppled one of the Shore pine (Pinus contorta) on our grounds below the Tropical Butterfly House, the Horticulture crew quickly dealt with the problem. They immediately removed the damaged tree, which was obstructing foot traffic around it.

Life Sciences’ Horticulture team, Jeff Leonard and Maida Ingalls, is probably most famous for growing stinky lilies, bamboo, coffee trees, colorful planters and the many wonderful flowers and foliage plants in the Tropical Butterfly House. But some days are less about exotic flora and more about hard, but careful work.

To deal with the downed tree, they first removed all branches and cut down the tree trunk. This left a two-foot stump. Next they hauled away all the debris and cut the trunk into fireplace size pieces. Ever the recycler, Maida took the logs to help heat her home next winter!

Then came time to deal with the stump and attached root ball. This is the hard part! Digging out a root ball that weighs in the neighborhood of 300 lbs. took time, care and the proper tools to get it all out safely. NOTE: No horticulturists were harmed in the making of this story.

Once the stump was removed, it was clear that it still had the wire enclosure and even a bit of burlap from its original planting. This planting occurred before either of our horticulturist worked here. This is a great reminder: when planting, liberate the roots and let them spread out into the soil where they will be living. This tree’s roots were prevented from expanding, which may have contributed to its destabilizing in wet weather.

Finally, Jeff and Maida backfilled the planting hole, leveled the soil, and raked out all leaves and other debris. Arborist wood chips provided by Seattle Tree Preservation were used as base mulch. Soon cedar play chips will be blown over this and adjacent planting beds as the finishing touch.

We are most thankful to Portal to the Publics’ Tamara Yurkanin for documenting this feat of strength through her photojournalism. Thank you again Tamara!

The Fearsome Threesome!

2011-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

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?

Fresh Sheet – June 10, 2011

2011-06-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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

25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
16 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
80 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
20 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
20 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio pilumnus (Three-tailed Swallowtail)
25 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
10 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
20 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 341

Suriname

10 - Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart)
25 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
20 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
10 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
40 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
30 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
05 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
10 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
10 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
40 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
20 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 611

The Very Hungry Nudibranch

2011-06-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, guests and staff were treated to a rare sighting of the Puget Sound Tide Pool model’s one and only shaggy mouse nudibranch (Aeolidia papillosa). This marine slug grazes on the tentacles of sea anemones. Having eaten the tentacles, it stores their stinging cells in its own body, rendering it toxic to predators. The shaggy looking growths on its back, which earned it its name, actually contain these stinging cells.

An unexpected stowaway from our most recent tide pooling expedition, the shaggy mouse is often hard to find. Unlike many home loving tide pool animals, it does not predictably return to a few favorite haunts. Since it is also small, flexible, and sandy in color, it tends to disappear for days or weeks only to suddenly appear in a new part of the exhibit.

In Pacific Science Center’s Life Sciences department, we must constantly remind ourselves not to anthropomorphize. Sometimes are easier than others. As the fluffy little nudibranch crawled between the arms of a purple sea star, it was all we could do not to think the star was petting it.

Fresh Sheet – June 4, 2011

2011-06-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

Twenty percent of this week’s pupae shipment from the Philippines is Hypolimnas bolina , a species we’re seeing more than once in a Blue Moon!

Philippines

20 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
30 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
50 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
100 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
30 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
80 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
14 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
30 - Danaus chrysippus (Plain Tiger)
17 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)

Total = 500

“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.

Babies!!!

2011-06-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 27, Life Sciences staff received the following memo from Animal Care Lead Brianna Todd:

Hey all,
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that Galinda gave birth last night. The babies look remarkably big and robust. We counted at least twelve this morning but there may be more.

Because the first week can be very challenging for mole rat pups, it is our policy to not make a formal naked mole rat baby announcement until at least five days have passed. It has been five days, so consider this blog post our official notice. The original litter was 20 pups – a rather large number for all the pups to be viable. As of Thursday morning we still have four little ones, gaining nourishment from nursing. It is now Thursday afternoon and the four pups continue to be active and show signs of growth.

Although day five is our big day for determining that the pups have a good chance of survival, there are still some challenges ahead as they incorporate solid food into their diet. But getting to this point is most heartening.

If it seems like a long time since our colony successfully produced offspring, you are right. Last offspring are now fifteen months old.

Many Hands on Seattle Works Day

2011-05-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

Pacific Science Center’s park-like surroundings are designed to be open, inviting, and to help welcome our guests to the exhibits. Amazingly, just two people perform the day-to-day upkeep of our gardens: Jeff Leonard and Maida Ingalls. They not only keep the outdoor plants looking good but also maintain the butterfly house plantings as well.

Once in a while, when looking at the tasks at hand, it seems like a few extra people would be very helpful. That’s why we were so excited to be on the list for Seattle Works Day volunteers. This amazing group of volunteers brought a team to our grounds on Saturday, May 21, that really shook things up. They pulled ivy, distributed mulch, prepped, cleaned and planted our big planters, and gave us a head start on our Springtime task list, the busiest part of the year for gardeners everywhere.

Big thanks go to Pacific Science Center’s team captains: Renee, Janelle, Maida and Sarah. Jeff, the project foreman, was on his feet for over ten hours and continued to move the entire crew forward. Still, Jeff kept the team well supplied with tools, materials, instructions and encouragement.

And most of all, every one of us at Pacific Science Center wishes to extend a huge THANK YOU to the many volunteers who contributed Saturday and helped our staff keep PSC looking good. We couldn’t do it without you!

Fresh Sheet – May 28, 2011

2011-05-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

Six hundred, forty more pupae have been added to the emerging window this week including three kinds of Clippers: Blue, brown and violet.

El Salvador

05 - Anteos maerula (Ghost sulfur)
20 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
20 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
10 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
15 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
60 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
15 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue)
15 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
30 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 360

LPS - LLC

10 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
30 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
06 - Charaxes castor (Giant Charaxes)
05 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charexes)
10 - Graphium antheus (Large Striped Swordtail)
09 - Graphium policenes (Common Swordtail)
30 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue Moon)
30 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
10 - Papilio constantinus (Constantines's Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio demodocus (Orchard Swallowtail)
30 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
20 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
30 - Parthenos sylvia lilacinus (Blue Clipper)
20 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
10 -Parthenos sylvia violaceae (Violet Clipper)

Total = 280

Grand total = 640

“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.

Snake Weight, Don’t Tell Me!

2011-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of the recent vet visit from Dr. Maas of The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine, Animal Care staff performed the quarterly weigh-in of our reptiles.

We weigh the boa constrictors by weighing staff members with and without snakes, and subtracting the difference. This is simple arithmetic, which we sometimes ask younger guests to help with. Any chance to sneak math into the day is worth it.

Here are the results:

Estrella – (21.6 lbs.) 9.8 kg, (7ft 10in) 2.4 meters
Esteban – (19.4 lbs.) 8.7 kg, (8ft) 2.4 meters
Estella – (24.8 lbs.) 11.2 kg, (7ft 11in) 2.4 meters

Why do we convert pounds and feet to metric readings? Partially, we do this because metric measurements are accepted universally. Even more importantly, we like to know the animals’ weights in kilograms because nearly all medication is dispensed in units per gram or kilogram, and the math is much simpler if we already have the weights in those increments.

Measuring a snake’s length is tricky. Snakes rarely stretch out to their full length, and they resist our efforts to make them do so. Instead, we lay string along their spine from head to tail and measure the string. Because the snakes are moving, these measurements are not accurate. However, as we take multiple measurements over time, their averages will come closer to a real reading.

Zea – 460 grams, (45 in) 1.14 meters
Tillamook – 480 grams, (45.5in) 1.15 meters
Nacho – 80 grams, (26.5in) 0.67 meters

Lydia – 100 grams

The corn snakes and the leopard gecko were weighed on a smaller and more precise scale, since a few grams means a lot for an animal of their size. If Estella gained or lost 100 grams (Lydia’s entire weight) it would account for less than 1% of her body weight, so we do not need to weigh her to the same degree of precision.

As we track our animals over time, we hope to see signs of growth in the younger ones, stability in the adults, and help bring Estella, who is a tad heavy and Zea and Tillamook, who are a trifle thin, back to their ideal weights.

Fresh Sheet - May 21, 2011

2011-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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.

Costa Rica

30 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
13 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
08 - Caligo atreus (Yellow-Edged Giant-Owl)
05 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
28 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
15 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
42 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
21 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
03 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
10 - Eueudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
17 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
24 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Calico)
07 - Hamadryas feronia (Variable Calico)
13 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
35 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
16 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
38 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
32 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
42 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
10 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
05 - Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
13 - Parides iphidamas (Iphidamas or Transandean Cattleheart)
12 - Phoebis philea (Orange Barred Sulfur)
12 - Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)

Total = 481

Fresh Sheet – May 15, 2011

2011-05-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

They’re everywhere! Hypolimnas bolina, the butterfly formerly known as the Great egg fly, seems to be dominating the Tropical Butterfly House. Come see why we’re now calling them the Blue moon butterfly.

El Salvador

30 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
20 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
80 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
40 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
15 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
10 - Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
10 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
25 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 360

Suriname

25 - Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart)
10 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides thoas (Giant Swallowtail)
10 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
05 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
10 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
40 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
05 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
10 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
05 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
40 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

Grand total = 630

“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.

A Fish Story

2011-05-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

Lately, a few astute and caring guests have noticed that the fish in the Tropical Butterfly House seemed a little under the weather. What they did next reminded us why we love our visitors and what a small world it is.

We feel lucky to have a wonderful veterinarian in Dr. Maas at The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine. As it turns out, some of our visitors also know Dr. Mass, and cared enough about our animals to mention the fish to him. Meanwhile we were making the same observations, and trying to strategize how to help get the fish get back into peak condition.

Luckily, we had already scheduled our semi-annual house call from our fine veterinarians. But with a week to go until that exam, our concern was growing and we wanted to get a head start on the fishes’ recovery. We also wanted our fish to have a private area with a lower light level to hasten their recovery. In the absence of a large, off exhibit tank, we improvised a hospital out of a large, clean plastic trash receptacle. In it, we circulated the water using the emergency backup pump from the axolotl cage. There the fish were treated to warmer water with salt solution and medication.

Because he was tipped on the problem with the fish, Dr. Maas arrived at our scheduled appointment with a net in hand, ready to help with the fish. He commented that the higher than usual salt concentration, good pH, and the added heat, probably helped get the fish down the road to recovery. Our goal now is to get the water quality high enough that their own healing process can finish their cure. Unfortunately, ammonia levels in a smaller tank build up more quickly than our filter could process. Dr. Maas found the fish to be near the peak of the ammonia development stage in the nitrogen cycle and gave us suggestions for bringing the levels down faster.

The fish are recovering swiftly and should be back on exhibit within days.

The rest of the exam went ‘swimmingly’. Most of our collection is in exceedingly good health. We always learn a lot whenever Dr. Maas visits. Be on the lookout for more articles about some of the other fascinating news we’ve learned about our animals (because there’s always more)!

Butterfly Surprise

2011-05-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who works with live animals gets used to occasional surprises. When a nursing home chose to use painted lady butterflies as a centerpiece for a Mother’s day party, they thought they had chosen a nice time of year, when the butterflies, a species native to the area, would have warm weather and ample flowers to feast on once the event was over. But surprise! Spring is starting very late this year, and the butterflies did not show much interest in flying out on a cold, grey day.

One of the nursing home employees remembered that Pacific Science Center has a butterfly house. Although we normally feature more tropical species, the hardy painted lady is perfectly happy in our exhibits.

Life Sciences Manger Sarah Moore got a surprise when she went to pick up the butterflies. Their carrying cases were nearly as pretty as they were. The butterflies were happy to feel the warm air and quickly found flowers to drink nectar from. We hope they like it here.

Pacific Science Center encourages anyone thinking of raising or buying butterflies to plan in advance for the whole life cycle of these animals. Butterflies often surprise us by emerging from the chrysalis earlier or later than expected. The weather is also not as cooperative as we might hope and a butterfly emerging in your house on a rainy day can pose a real dilemma!

"Butterfly Rising"

2011-05-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Last week Pacific Science Center’s Tropical Butterfly House had a very special guest: actress, writer and director Tanya Wright. Ms. Wright is in Seattle for the world premier of her movie “Butterfly Rising”, an entrant in the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival.

Ms. Wright, best known for her appearances on the HBO television show “True Blood,” was preparing for her first Seattle visit. A quick search of the word “butterfly” brought up our exhibit, and Ms. Wright immediately called Life Sciences manager Sarah Moore to invite people involved in its operation to the film’s premier. In exchange, Sarah invited Ms. Wright on a personal backstage tour of our Tropical Butterfly House complete with a visit to the emerging room. There, Ms. Wright got to hold a pupa in her hand as she felt the warmth of the life force that is inside a small chrysalis.

As this visit reinforces, the facts we learn in science class do not have to stay there. The journey of a butterfly, from egg through caterpillar, pupa and on to a winged adult may be an intriguing biological phenomenon to one person, and a jumping off place for artistic inspiration for another.

“Butterfly Rising” is not a “bug” movie, but rather a story that uses the process of metamorphosis as a metaphor for growth and change of the movies’ characters. The world premier is on Sunday May 8 at 6pm at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.

Fresh Sheet – May 7, 2011

2011-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

“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.

Philippines

04 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
23 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
100 – Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
20 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
07 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
30 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
60 - Parthenos sylvia philppensis (The Clipper)
07 - Papilio polytes (Polite swallowtail)
40 - Danaus chrysippus (Plain Tiger)
20 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly)

Total = 511

Please Don’t Touch The Babies!

2011-05-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

In addition to our many fascinating exhibit animals, Pacific Science Center is also home to many wildlife species. While most of these animals are rarely seen, the birds become very conspicuous in spring, as hatchlings outgrow their nests and begin the difficult process of learning to fly. The recent influx of wildlife on our grounds this spring had us thinking about some tips that can help humans to interact with these animals in a way that’s safe for both people and the creatures that share our city habitat.

At different times, staff have reported seeing or hearing evidence of tree frogs, newts, several types of native butterflies, bumble bees, dragon flies, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, bats and a wide variety of birds ranging in size from the occasional Canada goose or bald eagle down to hummingbirds.

In general, Animal Care does not feed, tend or interact with the wildlife. But in one very strange exception: A sea star was found outside Pacific Science Center’s main gates. At first we thought it had been taken from our touch tank, but a staff member reported that a gull had dropped it there. It was still alive and joined our Tide Pool exhibit.

Spring is baby bird season, and in the coming weeks we will start to see fledgling birds of many kinds, often looking cute but bedraggled as they develop from hatchlings to fully feathered young. Our landscape, with seeds and flowers in many seasons and trees of various heights, invites nest building and safely harbors young birds. After a few weeks in the nest, baby birds are large enough to stretch their flight muscles, but still not fully capable of flight. They flutter down from their nests and take up residence on the ground.

At this time, well-meaning people pick up the babies and either put them back in the nest, or bring them to animal care facilities. Please do not do this unless you are certain an animal is in danger. A young animal’s parents will give it better care and protection than any human is able to.

Most baby birds look nearly as large as their parents. They need long wings and big feathers to fly, and their bodies are racing to reach that size. Young gulls are a good example of this. They are grey rather than white, perhaps so their parents can spot them better. A grey gull that cannot fly but is otherwise alert and healthy looking has probably left the nest but is still being tended by its parents.

In addition to harming the animal, moving baby birds is potentially risky to the person doing it. The parents may be nearby and will often fiercely defend their young. Even small birds have sharp claws and beaks, and a cut or scrape from them is not clean, and liable to infection. Birds can also carry a variety of germs and parasites, some of which can be passed on to people.

Young wildlife faces many challenges, from temperature extremes to predators to disease and parasites. But their parents are uniquely adapted to care for them, and if there is ever a choice, they should be left to the best caretakers possible. Here’s wishing all our human and animal friends a happy Mother’s Day!

The photograph of the juvenile gulls is in the public domain.

Fresh Sheet - April 30, 2011

2011-04-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

This week’s shipment includes the rarely seen Small Striped Swordtail, Graphium policenes. Visit us and see if you can tell the difference from the Large Striped Swordtail, Graphium antheus.

El Salvador

30 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
20 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
20 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
20 - Doxocopa laure (Silver Emperor)
20 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
20 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
12 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
45 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
45 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
10 - Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
20 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
30 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 362

LPS - LLC

04 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
20 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
03 - Charaxes brutus (White-barred Charaxes)
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charexes)
10 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charexes)
10 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime)
10 - Euploea core (Common Crow)
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
10- Graphium antheus (Large Striped Swordtail)
08 - Graphium policenes (Small Striped Swordtail)
29 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly)
11 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
02 - Ideopsis juventa (Wood Nymph)
10 - Ideopsis vulgaris (Blue Glassy Tiger)
10 - Pachliopta kotzeboea (Pink Rose)
10 - Papilio demodocus (Orchard Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio helenus (Red Helen)
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Mormon)
06 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
20 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
10 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
10 - Parthenos sylvia violaceae (Violet Clipper)
07 - Tirumala septentrionus(Dark Blue Tiger)

Total = 250

Grand Total = 612

“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.

Tide Pool Collecting Trip

2011-04-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

Pacific Science Center’s Alternative Service policy requires full time staff members to work 40 hours per year in a department other than their own. This policy creates a sense of camaraderie, helps staff members understand each other’s work better, and helps our programs accomplish occasional tasks where a few extra hands are needed. Thus a day at the beach brought in Brigid and Portia, who normally work with our youth volunteers in the Discovery Corps, and Chris and Meredith from our camps’ program. Youth and Family Programs manager Meredith Braud spends much of her time making sure our Camp-ins and vacation and summer camps are dynamic, fun, and trouble-free. But on Wednesday April 20, she got to have a totally different experience. Here is her story.

I was lucky enough to be included in a tide pool collecting excursion for PSC’s Salt Water Tide Pool recently. Having grown up in Louisiana, the tide pools of the Pacific Northwest are still a marvel to me. Most of the coastal waters of the Mississippi delta are muddy and brown, and exotic creatures may dwell there but are masked so well…

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I came prepared in my best rubber boots. Not wanting anyone to know what a tide pool novice I was, I didn’t readily admit that I had absolutely no clue what we were looking for. I just followed Brianna Todd, Lead Animal Caretaker, and watched as she culled through the rocks exposed by low tide on the beach in Indianola. She found a caramel colored anemone about an inch wide and put it in my bucket. And then I saw another coworker, Brigid, find a beautiful red and green Christmas anemone about the size of a tennis ball, and I was hooked!

How abundant those rocks were in life forms that I hardly would have noticed before this trip! We found hermit crabs and sea snails, anemones of several species, mussels, a little shrimp (he is very cute!), and several other animals that I could neither pronounce or find (they were camouflaged well on those wet rocks). I was most enamored of the anemones with their gooey outsides and tentacled insides that sometimes popped outside.

We also saw lots of creatures that were quite notable, though they were not invited to take up residence at PSC’s Tide Pool. There were some sun stars fish (what brilliant colors!), and some regular sea stars, some of which were as big as my golden retriever puppy. I never knew a sea star could get that big! And the most amazing creature that coworker Chris discovered was a red octopus. His body was about 6-8 inches long when it was spread out and slimy, but he was able to bunch all of his slimy self together and sort of fling his body forward to move toward the water. That little octopus was really fun to watch.

All in all ,the trip was a success! We found some creatures that have a nice new home here with us where they are safe from the ravenous sea stars of the world. Of course, I would have thought it a success anyway. I certainly learned a lot, and I hope to go “collecting” again sometime!

We hope that Meredith’s experience inspires you to visit our Puget Sound Salt Water Tide Pool and meet the animals she brought back. You can also visit the animals that didn’t get collected by visiting a beach at low tide. Please visit respectfully. Touching sea anemones, stars, shells and other tide pool creatures will not harm them, but moving them or the rocks they live on and around can be very harmful to them. Sea mammals, such as seals, and animals that normally swim freely, such as octopus and jellyfish should not be touched. Jellyfish and octopus may contain toxins that absorb through the skin, and all wild mammals are protected by law and must strictly be left alone.

Spring Spheres

2011-04-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

What are those silly silk worms up to now?

Enjoy!

Fresh Sheet April 22, 2011

2011-04-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Costa Rica

48 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
13 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
12 - Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
26 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
05 - Chlosyne janais (Crimson Patch)
31 - Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
23 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
35 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
17 - Hamadryas amphinome (Red Calico)
08 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
37 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
23 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
45 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
37 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
13 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
25 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
07 - Hypna clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
41 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
29 - Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
04 - Parides iphidamas(Iphidamas or Transandean Cattleheart)
13 - Philaethria dido (Scarce Bamboo Page)

Total = 517

“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. .

Corpse Plant Bloom Watch

2011-04-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Corpse plant #2 (can anyone think of a better name?) has not bloomed yet it's getting bigger every day. Recently, a local television station came by to take a sniff. How about you?

Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27FViuHJEgM&feature=player_embedded

Sea Star Spawn and so on

2011-04-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Sea stars, and many other marine animals, reproduce in ways that look very different from anything air dwellers do. Recent visitors to our Puget Sound Salt Water Tide Pool may have noticed some interesting, springtime behavior.

If you notice a sea star emitting a cloudy substance, the star is spawning - releasing its gametes into the water. Sea stars can be either male or female, and both release their spawn (is there a better word for this?) in the same way. Because they tend to live near other members of their species, there is a very good chance that some of these cells will find each other and fertilization can take place. In our tide pool, with its necessary filtration system, any fertilized sea star eggs won't be able to survive.

Like sea stars, many anemone species spawn by releasing free swimming (gametes) into the water. But many anemones also reproduce asexually, creating genetically identical clones of themselves. They can either split into two anemones of roughly equal size, or the parent anemone can bud smaller offspring. Sometimes when a large anemone relocates, it will leave small groups of cells that regenerate into tiny new anemones.

When you visit our tide pool or take a walk on a beach, lives are being lived around you. Look closely to appreciate the many way animals have evolved to meet the challenges of survival and reproduction.

Fresh Sheet – April 17, 2011

2011-04-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

The Tropical Butterfly House is awaiting the emergence of a SECOND CORPSE PLANT and 618 new pupae from Suriname and El Salvador!

El Salvador

12 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
20 - Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
10 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
80 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
25 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
30 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
36 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
10 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 348

Suriname

5 – Parides sesostris (Emerald-patched Cattleheart)
5 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
10 - Heraclides thoas (Giant Swallowtail)
40 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
10 - - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
33 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
20 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
25 - Catonephele orites (Orange-banded shoemaker)
20 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
05 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
15 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
32 - Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
10 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 618

Fresh Sheet – April 8, 2011

2011-04-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

This week in addition to the list of butterflies from the Philippines, we include a link to The Philippine Star where you can read tomorrow’s news today!

Philippines

05 - Papilio palinurus (Banded Peacock)
100 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
100 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
100 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
30 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
16 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
13 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
30 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
100 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly)

Total = 494

“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.

What’s That Smell?

2011-04-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Staff members visiting the Tropical Butterfly House this morning were greeted with an odd, unpleasant odor. Fortunately, the aroma was not the result of a something rotting in the ventilation system but in fact, a very special blooming plant: Amorphophallus bulbifer, a corpse plant!

The smell is intended to attract insects which are important pollinators of this plant. Also known as the Voodoo Lily, our plant ("Pinky") has a large pink flower about the size of a football. There are over 150 different species in the genus Amorphophallus, all found in tropical and subtropical zones.

Come see “Pinky” soon! It doesn’t bloom every year and will only last about a week. So take a whiff and enjoy it while you can!

You can find “Pinky” in the southwest corner of the center island of the garden, across from the emergency exit. Or just follow your nose!

The Flopsy Memo

2011-04-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last week the following memo was given to the Animal Care staff:

Axolotl “Flopsy” went in to the vet because of swelling on the left side of her face and nasal discharge. Dr. Maas [our vet from The Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine] expressed a surprising quantity of whitish discharge from her left nostril. Her face was noticeably more normal looking when he was done. The discharge was full of bacteria and dead cells, but had no signs of fungal infection. Dr. Maas said she appears to have a sinus infection.

She is to be given a daily antibiotic injection. The antibiotic is stored in the freezer. Before injecting, thaw it to room temperature, and remove all the air from the syringe. They put in a lot of air to protect the syringe from damage when the liquid expands during freezing.

Place Flopsy in a small plastic container and restrain her while you inject into the flesh part of her shoulder. Use the left shoulder on even days and the right on odd days. Wearing gloves helps make her slightly less slippery. The shot does hurt when it happens and she will thrash. But remind yourself that axolotls have incredible healing powers and that an infection hurts worse. And falling would hurt much worse, so don’t be afraid to use sufficient restraint.

If her face looks swollen again, either let me know or you can gently press the sinus area below her eye, toward the nostril, to clear out more of the discharge.

Sarah Moore
March 30, 2011

Never a dull moment in Animal Care!

Fresh Sheet – April 1, 2011

2011-04-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

It’s spring so it must be Morpho polyphemus time! See if you can spot these elusive white handkerchiefs among our other colorful butterflies!

El Salvador

40 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
30 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
10 - Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
40 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
80 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
40 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
12 - Papilio androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail)
30 - Parides montezuma (Montezuma Cattleheart)
30 - Prepona omphale=archeoprepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 362

LPS-LA

10 - Argema mimosa (African Moon Moth)
20 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
04 - Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant)
30 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
10 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charaxes)
10 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charexes)
10 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime)
10 - Euploea core (Common Crow)
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
10 - Hypolimnas bolina (Great Eggfly)
08 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
10 - Junonia almana (Peacock Pansy)
10 - Junonia lemonias (Lemon Pansy)
10 - Papilio helenus (Red Helen)
20 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
30 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
30 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
10 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
11 - Tirumala limniace (Blue Tiger)

Total = 273

Grand total = 635