Fresh Sheet – September 27, 2014

Check out our new, improved Tropical Butterfly House. Jenn and her Horticultural volunteers have worked hard to transform the indoor jungle into a visual paradise! Now there is more light, more scents and the appearance of more butterflies. Come see for yourself!


Bioproductores de El Salvador

06 - Archeoprepona demophoon (Hubner’s Prepona)
25 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
10 - Catonephele numilia (Halloween Butterfly)
30 - Eurytides thymbraeus (White-crested Swallowtail)
15 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
10 - Heliconius hortense (Mountain Longwing)
25 - Heliconius ismenius (Ismenius Longwing)
12 - Lycorea cleobaea (Large Tiger)
30 - Morpho polyphemus (White Morpho)
30 - Myscelia ethusa (Royal Blue Butterfly)
10 - Papilio androgeus (Queen Page)
30 - Papilio erostratus (Dusky Swallowtail)
10 - Parides arcas (Arcas Cattleheart)
14 - Prepona demophon (One-spotted Prepona)
20 - Prepona omphale (Blue Belly-Button)
10 - Siderone nemesis (Red-striped Leafwing)
24 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 311

Neotropical Insects NV, Suriname

15 - Battus polydamas (Polydamus Swallowtail)
15 - Heraclides thoas (Thoas Swallowtail)
30 - Heraclides anchisiades (Ruby-spotted Swallowtail)
35 - Heliconius melpomene (Postman)
10 - Heliconius hecale (Tiger Longwing)
30 - Dryas iulia (Julia Longwing)
35 - Anartia amathea (Scarlet Peacock)
15 - Biblis hyperia (Red Rim)
40 - Caligo memnon (Owl Butterfly)
20 - Eryphanis polyxena (Purple Mort Bleu Owl)
25 - Tithorea harmonia (Harmonia Tigerwing)

Total = 270

Grand Total = 581

“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.

Butterfly Longevity Study

One of the most frequently asked questions we get about butterflies is: How long do they live? We usually generalize and reply that the average butterfly lives about two to three weeks. But sometimes, Animal Caretakers will note a butterfly with unique wing markings, or a butterfly of a species that hasn’t been released in over a month. Then we realize that this individual has far outlived that supposed range. What’s the real answer?

Over the coming months Life Sciences will be doing longevity studies with a few butterfly species in our exhibit. We will begin with Idea leuconoe, the Paper Kite. This butterfly is native to Southeast Asia, and is in the same family as the Monarch butterfly. We chose it because its markings are distinctive and because we have some evidence that it is an unusually long-lived butterfly. If our study works well, we will expand it to include other species later.

To study how long butterflies live, we need some way to recognize individual butterflies. We considered the tagging method used in Monarch migration studies but decided to go with a less invasive procedure. We tested paint markers that are easy to see, easy to apply, and won’t harm any of the butterflies’ wing parts. These photos show how minimally invasive the process is. Marking only adds three or four seconds to the normal release procedure of restraining the butterfly and best of all, does not appear to add any stress to the subject.

Each day we will mark all the butterflies of our chosen species with the same marking. Later, we will be able to compare the date they were released into the exhibit with the date they died and calculate their age. This information could lead to other questions about their care and longevity.

Drop by our Tropical Butterfly House and observe the newly marked test subjects and then stay tuned for the results from our study. It should be interesting.

Flight of the Butterflies 3D

The beautiful, award-winning IMAX movie “Flight of the Butterflies 3D” is back at Pacific Science Center to the delight of audiences of all ages. After seeing the movie, most guests make a bee-line … butterfly-line? … to see our butterfly exhibit. So once again, we remind you about Tropical Butterfly House courtesy and our number one rule: Please don’t touch the butterflies. "But," you say, “in the movie, there are scenes showing people touching butterflies. Why can't I?"

Like Animal Care Staff, the scientists in the film are trained on how to handle these delicate creatures without hurting them or damaging their wings. Butterfly wing tagging is performed with the least amount of handling necessary and the butterflies don’t appear to be encumbered by the tags. Currently there is no better way to track a butterfly’s migratory patterns, although the tags have gotten smaller. Citizen scientists are essential to information gathering. By tagging of a small percentage of the Monarch population, scientists learn a great deal about this species. This data helps us to better understand butterflies and their migration patterns.

In our Tropical Butterfly House, Animal Care Staff carefully gather butterflies from the emerging window with forceps and release them into the garden as gently as possible. With forceps, Staff is trained to gather all four wings firmly but efficiently to cause as little stress as possible to the butterfly.

Enjoy the movie, then enjoy our butterflies. We have so much to learn from these amazing insects, let’s treat them with respect while they are in our care.

Fresh Sheet - September 20, 2014

Our Tropical Butterfly House reopens today after two weeks of light bulb changing, net mending, bed planting, and plant grooming. We’re all spiffed up and ready for you!


Penang Butterfly Farm, Malaysia

60 - Cethosia cyane (Leopard Lacewing)
20 - Danaus vulgaris (Blue Glassy Tiger)
27 - Doleschalia bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
13 - Euploea mulciber (Striped Blue Crow)
45 - Hypolimnas bolina (Blue moon)
60 - Idea leuconoe (Paper Kite)
34 - Lexias dirtea (Archduke)
05 - Papilio memnon (Great Memnon)
08 - Papilio nephelus (Yellow Helen)
10 - Precis almana (Peacock Pansy)
38 - Precis atlites (Gray Pansy)
30 - Vindula dejone (The Cruiser)

“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.

Scarlet Paintbrush Blooms!

This week Outdoor Horticulture Volunteer Monica shares an exciting accomplishment for the Life Sciences Department.

Last Sunday while doing our normal rounds to check up on all the plants, we noticed that some are developing buds and then we came across something even more exciting: one scarlet paintbrush is in bloom! This is definitely a proud moment for Jenn Purnell and the Horticulture Volunteers.

Earlier this summer we planted this wildflower in our upper pads’ color bowls to complement the larger plantings of our pollinator garden. The upper pads is a good location for some of the more sunshine-loving specimens.

The paintbrush plant was a bit of a gamble since this plant is primarily wild. It is native to very specific habitats, and has unusual adaptations which make it a challenge to cultivate in the garden.

Scarlet-paintbrush (castilleja miniata) is semi-parasitic; its roots form connections with the roots of other nearby plants, usually grasses. But these restrictions and challenges were not enough to deter our fearless horticulturist Jenn from trying to give the plant a good home! Fortunately we already had some well-established grasses (festuca roemeri) so we had some very good candidates for hosts. Where the grasses didn’t have a very strong presence, we planted more. Over the following weeks there were some tense times as the paintbrushes settled in. Some individuals looked as if they wouldn’t make it. However many recovered and look better and healthier every week.

Jenn’s research and the care provided by all our Outdoor Horticulture Volunteers have paid off. Hats off to them for coaxing this finicky but marvelous plant into bloom. May this flower be the first of many!

Monica Dennis

Monica is one of our many hard-working, enthusiastic Horticulture Volunteers who keep Pacific Science Center’s grounds and Tropical Butterfly House healthy and beautiful.

Mole Rats At Work

Animal Care Volunteer Maurice Warner is a perceptive observer of our naked mole rat colony. Recently, he submitted the following story that helps explain our colony’s curious behavior.

Most of us think our naked mole rats are cute as they hustle about in their plastic tube colony, but you might be surprised to discover they’re often hard at work, each with a specific job to do. When I began working as an animal care volunteer, I assumed our exhibit colony was too small and too different from a wild colony of mole rats to reveal much about mole rat behavior. Turns out I was wrong.

Scientists who have carefully studied both wild and exhibit colonies describe a three caste social system. The “reproductive” caste includes the queen (or in our case two queens) and each queen’s one to three male consorts. The “soldier” caste is made up of the larger, non-reproductive animals, both male and female. The third, or “housekeeper” caste is composed of the smaller adults, again, both males and females.

Sometimes when I watch closely I notice mole rats doing their caste “jobs”. Also, I sometimes make small changes to the colony system to enhance mole rat behavior. If you watch the colony via our web cam you may see some of our industrious naked mole rats at work.

The housekeepers are the easiest to spot. Their jobs include keeping the tunnels clear for safe passage, and discovering new food sources. When I place some loose bedding material into one of our colony’s plastic tunnels the small animals quickly removed it – usually by walking backward and pushing the material out of the tunnel with their hind feet. (Did you know naked mole rats have hairs between their toes that make them more effective shovelers?) Finding new food sources is another very important housekeeper job in wild colonies. When they find food, they communicate its location to the rest of the colony through both vocalizations and scent trails. The housekeepers also carry small bits of food back to the nest chamber where it is eaten by other animals. When I place bite-sized pieces of carrot or grapes in the plastic tunnels, watch what happens! The larger animals rarely carry food back to the nest – they eat it in place. Carrying food is a job for housekeepers, not soldiers.

The soldiers’ job is to defend the colony against intruding snakes or mole rats from other colonies. Our exhibit colony never faces the threat of dangerous intruders, so it’s very hard to see our soldier attack. However, soldiers do not shy away from the occasional intruding Animal Caretaker when it’s time for weighing or changing bedding. And since they’re the larger animals, soldiers are the strongest diggers. Our exhibit colony can’t dig new tunnels but if I place significant obstructions in the tunnels – like a large cork that completely blocks a tunnel – the housekeepers are likely to first discover it and initially attempt to clear it away. But soon the larger animals move in from both ends of the obstruction and chew away at it in a frenzy that lasts until the obstruction is removed.

The reproductive caste mole rats, the queens at least, have one other important role in addition to producing new pups. The queen is the work boss. You may notice her conducting inspection tours to see what work needs to be done, or shoving other animals around. Laboratory research has demonstrated that colonies with the most “pushy” queens actually function most effectively! So she’s not nasty, she’s just doing her job.

If the naked mole rat caste system sounds more like bees than rats, you’re right! It is very unusual for a mammal that lives in groups to have differing behavioral roles that are not based on gender or age. Think about lions for example. If you’re curious about how mole rats got that way, you might want to do some naked mole rat research of your own. “The Naked Mole-Rat Mystery” by Jarrow and Sherman is a good place to start.

Unusual behavior is just one of the things that delights me about our naked mole rats. They’re not naked, not moles, not rats, and not insects either, but I love them!

Maurice Warner

Volunteers like Maurice observe interesting phenomena every day at Pacific Science Center. If you love science and would love to share your enthusiasm with like-minded people, consider volunteering in our Science Interpretation Program. Training begins soon.