our American insectaria
A classic butterfly garden scene - kids discovering the magic of Lepidoptera - captured by Eddy Van 3000. Maybe it's time to put together a wasp garden?
NC State's haiku and statistics master, Charlie Smith, was kind enough to pass along this story about the new Insectarium that opened in New Orleans as part of the Audubon Nature Institute. It sounds like a fantastic place: 23,000ft2 dedicated to insects, with live, pinned, and educational displays, insect food ("edible bug snacks like 'chocolate chirp cookies,' crispy Cajun crickets, mealworm egg rolls and deep-fried dragonflies") and the like. I, for one, cannot wait to visit.
The article also listed some other "insectaria," which I found interesting. Apparently there are at least 100 or so similar institutions across the USA and Canada. I know of the Montréal Insectarium, the Orkin Insect Zoo (Smithsonian), the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House (Missouri Botanical Garden), Insectopolis (Toms River, New Jersey), and a few others. One I had inexplicably forgot about is the Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum (Plano, TX), which, as far as I can tell, displays dioramas of anthropomorphized cockroaches that sing, play piano, serve as our lady Liberty's torch, and, alas, do stand-up.
Our long-term plans at the Insect Museum include the incorporation of public displays and live insects. We do have some traveling displays that go out to local schools, etc., but we need a new facility to incorporate a small "insectarium" that's open for public viewing. Until then you'll have to road trip from Montréal to New Orleans to Plano to get your insect fix.
This scene from the Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum, dedicated to the late Sam Kinison, is particularly amusing. Is the positioning of the cockroach here deliberate? Or did the display simply fall apart with age? Thanks to Matt Musselman for capturing this image.
