Fresh Sheet – May 27, 2009

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

El Salvador - May 27

8 Anteos maerula (Yellow Angled-Sulphur)
16 Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
30 Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
30 Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
8 Colobura dirce (Zebra Mosaic)
20 Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
10 Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
10 Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
10 Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
100 Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
20 Myscelia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
20 Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 Parides photinus (Queen of Hearts)
20 Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

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Jeff's Cooties

Last Wednesday our Horticulturist, Jeff Leonard, received a walkie-talkie call from the reception desk. "Jeff, your cooties are here." For anyone overhearing this conversation and wondering - Jeff's "cooties" are, in fact, "beneficial insects." About once or twice a year Jeff orders "bennies" as he calls them, to keep control of aphid, scale, mealybugs and other harmful pests on the plants in the Tropical Butterfly House. This spring's shipment contained four different species. Encarsia formosa is a parasatoidal wasp that attacks aphids, white flies, and other small pests. The eggs arrive on small tags that are hung around the limbs of the infected plant. When the eggs hatch, there is a banquet waiting for them.

Lindorus lopanthae, black lady beetles are scale slayers. These bennies arrive in small vials and are carefully placed on the plants near contaminated sites. The bugs get to work immediately upon release!Cryptolaemus montrouzieri are better known as mealybug destroyers. They are similar to ladybugs but smaller - less likely to leave with visitors.

Chrysoperla rufilabris, green lacewings are probably most recognizable as adults. These beneficial insects arrive as ravenous larvae in cardboard combs which are tapped onto aphid infested plants. If you could see them close-up (which is hard to do because when they arrive they’re less than 1mm and grow to 6-8mm), you'd see the pinchers they use to suck the body fluids from their prey.

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Controlling plant pests with beneficial insects means that our horticulture staff doesn’t have to use chemical pesticides or invasive processes in our Tropical Butterfly House. The butterflies are happy, the plants are happy and the “cooties” are happy!

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Want to learn more? Check out our supplier's website and blog:

http://www.rinconvitova.com/

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Fresh Sheet - May 21,2009

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


Costa Rica

3 Anartia fatima (Banded Peacock)
18 Anteos chlorinde (White Angled Sulphur)
7 Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
14 Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
12 Caligo eurilochus (Forest Giant Owl)
14 Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
11 Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
7 Chlosyne janais (Crimson Patch)
35 Danaus plexippus (The Monarch)
10 Dryadula phaetusa (Banded Orange Heliconian)
17 Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
6 Hamadryas feronia (Variable Cracker)
11 Heliconius charitonius (Zebra Longwing)
24 Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
36 Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
35 Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
7 Heliconius sapho (Sapho Longwing)
11 Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
7 Hypna Clytemnestra (Silver-studded Leafwing)
3 Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
21 Mechanitis polymnia (Polymnia Tigerwing)
35 Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
11 Myselia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
5 Nessaea aglaura (Nessaea)
7 Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
21 Papilio polyxenes (Black Swallowtail)
12 Parides iphidamas (Iphidamas or Transandean Cattleheart)
7 Siproeta epaphus (Rusty-tipped Page)
13 Siproeta stelenes (Malachite)
11 Tithorea tarricina (Cream-Spotted Clearwing)

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Naked Mole Rats' Bedding

Observant staff and visitors have noticed that the bedding for the Naked Mole Rats has changed. The former medium, Aspen shavings, has been replaced with bedding made from the recycled cellulose pulp fiber CareFRESH®. Why? Well, like all scientists, we’re experimenting in search for the best setup for our colony. Our new bedding is produced in a cleaner, more controlled environment and is purpose-made as rodent bedding. What we did not know is whether it would work for our unique situation.

According to Life Science Department manager, Sarah Moore, “CareFRESH® bedding is working OK except that it is drier than the wood shavings. When we first introduced it to our Naked Mole Rats, their skin became flaky and dry. Now we’re tossing a small amount of filtered water in with the bedding to cut its moisture-wicking properties. Doing this has helped with the skin problems and it keeps their food from drying out too fast. Also, this new bedding does not absorb odor as much as the wood chips. But that is probably desirable in the case of mole rats, because they use odor as a marker.”

As caretakers of an animal with a complex social behavior, we’re trying to balance the mole rat’s physical husbandry needs (for a clean habitat with a stable temperature and humidity) with their social needs to be together and have minimum handling in an environment that smells like home.

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