Fresh Sheet – March 29, 2014

Spy: The Secret World of Espionage opens today at Pacific Science Center where you can also spy on international butterflies in our Tropical Butterfly House. This week’s pupae shipment contains varieties from around the world including two kinds of Birdwing butterflies!


LPS LLC

10 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant) MALAYSIA
20 - Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant) THAILAND
20 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant) MALAYSIA
10 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing) PHILIPPINES
10 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing) THAILAND
15 - Charaxes castor (Giant Charaxes) KENYA
15 - Charaxes cithaeron (Blue-spotted Charaxes) KENYA
10 - Charaxes etesipe(Savannah Charaxes) KENYA
10 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charaxes) KENYA
10 - Charaxes varanes (Pearl Charexes) KENYA
10 - Chilasa clytia (Common Mime) THAILAND
10 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf) PHILIPPINES
15 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite) PHILIPPINES
10 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail) PHILIPPINES
10 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail) KENYA
10 - 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 - Troides Helena (Common Birdwing) MALAYSIA
10 - Troides rhadamantus plateni (Platen’s Birdwing) PHILIPPINES

TOTAL = 240

“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 Snake with an Ache

So much of a snake’s anatomy is vertebrae. The very phrase “a snake with a back ache” sounds like a definition of misery. So when our red boa constrictor, Esteban, started showing signs of stiffness and discomfort in two sections of his spine, we knew at once we wanted to help him feel better.

During his quarterly house call, Dr. Maas observed each of our snakes as they moved about on the ground. We rarely get a chance to see the natural movement of our boas because they’re either in their cages or in the hands of presenters. This was a good opportunity for Animal Caretakers to watch our large snakes in action.

A snake with complete range of motion, like Estrella, forms rounded shapes, like the letter “S”. She can move easily through all her vertebrae. When her tail is gently squeezed, she immediately pulls it out of our grip. This is consistent with what our presentation staff tell us about her; Estrella tightly wraps herself around the waist of the person handling her.

Compared to Estrella, Esteban shows a much more limited range of comfortable positions. There are two areas that he always seems reluctant to bend. Esteban has a pain in the neck and a pain in the tail. His tail is also weakened. When gently squeezed, he had almost no reaction at all. When placed on the floor, he could not flex his tail to move. Instead, he had to ‘caterpillar’ the lower part of his body, contracting his muscles to scoot along rather than undulating.

Esteban is showing signs of arthritis! There is some good news for the short term. We will begin giving him anti-inflammatory medication that will reduce the tissue swelling around the arthritic area, and give him back much of his comfort and ability to move. He should stop losing strength and perhaps make some gains.

Unfortunately, this is a progressive condition that can’t reverse itself and that will eventually get worse over time. With good care, we hope that Esteban will be happy and comfortable for years to come.

Fresh Sheet – March 22, 2014

Spring is here and so are 565 pupae from our Costa Rica butterfly farmers. Visit our Tropical Butterfly House soon!


Costa Rica

17 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
43 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia Shoemaker)
08 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
15 - Eueiudes isabella (Isabella’s Longwing)
24 - Greta oto (Glasswing)
15 - Hamadryas februa (Gray Calico)
49 - Hamadryas laodamia (Starry Calico)
18 - Heliconius clysonymus (Clysonymus Longwing)
21 - Heliconius cydno (Cydno Longwing)
26 - Heliconius doris (Doris Longwing)
60 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
44 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
03 - Heliconius sapho (Sapho Longwing)
22 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
29 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
60 - Myscelia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
79 - Papilio thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
28 - Parides iphidamas (Transandean Cattleheart)
04 - Siproeta epaphus (Rusty-tipped Page)

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.

Fresh Sheet – March 15

If you love White Morphos, you’ll find them at our Tropical Butterfly House. Plus two shipments of neotropical pupae arrived this week from Suriname and El Salvador, totaling 572 butterflies-to-be. Visit us soon!


Suriname

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

Total = 270

El Salvador

25 - Archeoprepona demophoon (Hubner’s Prepona)
25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
25 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
48 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
25 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
09 - Myscelia cyaniris (Blue Wave Butterfly)
25 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Parides arcas (Arcas Cattleheart)
15 - Archeoprepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
10 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)

Total = 302

Grand Total = 572

“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.

How Are Our Sea Stars Doing?

Many visitors to Pacific Science Center have been asking about a current ecological phenomenon known as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. Have our Puget Sound Salt Water Tide Pool sea stars been affected?

The short answer is “No” and we are monitoring the situation closely. Pacific Science Center addresses the disease here including links to current research. Be assured that Animal Caretakers are recording any unusual appearances and movements of our sea stars in the hopes of having early detection if the disorder does appear. We are also taking photographs regularly and logging instances when staff report concerns about possible skin integrity.

The normal, relaxed posture of a sea star is open, like a star – with all limbs pointing straight out. The arms of sea stars contain sensory organs as well as the tube feet they use for movement. By spreading out their arms, they have access to the most sense data. But once in a while, the stars will take other postures.

Because crossed and twisted arms are an early indicator of the wasting disease, we are recording every time a star is noted in one of these positions. This will give us a good baseline for how often a healthy star is in one of these positions.

Sea star wasting syndrome is characterized by lesions of the skin – discolored, broken, or whitish areas where the epidermis has begun to break down. The white, calcium rich plates and spines of its skeleton become more obvious through its skin. But a sea star looks very different when it sits at or above the water’s surface than it does below. So far all our calls have been for stars that have parts of their body above the water level, and look funny but are actually fine.

We’ve also received few calls about the madreporite of our sea stars. This hard calcium ‘button’ on the top of every sea star is used to control the water pressure in and outside of the animal. Many people have never noticed the madreporite before, and wondered if it might be a sign of problems. We are fortunate to have many new eyes help us monitor our animals.

As more information is learned about this phenomenon, we will be reporting our findings. Until more is known, we will not be introducing any new sea stars or their relatives into the tide pool.

Fresh Sheet – March 8, 2014

This is Polar Science Weekend at Pacific Science Center where guests can investigate life at the extreme ends of the earth. Meanwhile, it’s always warm and cozy in our Tropical Butterfly House. Take a break and visit our newest arrivals!


Malaysia

05 - Appias lyncida (Chocolate Albatros)
50 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
40 - Catopsilia scylla (Orange Emigrant)
60 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
10 - Cethosia hypsea (Malay Lacewing)
40 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
60 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
05 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
50 - Papilio polytes (Polite Swallowtail)
50 - Parthenos sylvia (The Clipper)
50 - Precis almana (Peacock Pansy)
30 - Vindula dejone (The Cruiser)

Total = 450

“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 – March 1, 2014

This week we have 515 more tropical pupae arriving and getting ready to emerge into beautiful butterflies. Come hang out with them soon!


El Salvador

18 - Archeoprepona demophoon (Hubner’s Prepona)
25 - Battus belus (Belus Swallowtail)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
25 - Catonephele numilia (Numilia)
20 - Consul fabius (Tiger Leafwing)
10 - Heliconius erato (Small Postman)
12 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
15 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
10 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
10 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
40 - Morpho peleides (Blue Morpho)
20 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
10 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio androgeus (Queen Page)
20 - Papilio torquatus (Band-gapped Swallowtail)
10 - Parides arcas (Arcas Cattleheart)
10 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
10 - Siderone nemesis (Red-striped Leafwing)
15 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 315

LPS-LLC

10 - Athyma perius (Common Sergeant)
10 - Cethosia biblis (Red Lacewing)
20 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
07 - Charaxes lasti (Silver Striped Charaxes)
10 - Charaxes protoclea (Flame-bordered Charexes)
10 - Charaxes varanes (Pearl Charexes)
10 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
10 - Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay)
10 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
14 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
15 - Papilio demodocus (Orchard Swallowtail)
30 - Papilio lowii (Sunset Swallowtail)
10 - Papilio nireus (Blue-banded Swallowtail)
06 - Papilio ophidicephalus (Emperor Swallowtail)
05 - Papilio rumanzovia (Crimson Swallowtail)
07 - Parthenos sylvia lilacinus (Blue Clipper)
11 - Parthenos sylvia philippensis (The Clipper)
05 - Troides rhadamantus plateni (Platen’s Birdwing)

Total = 200

Grand Total = 515

“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.