Insect Collectors Extraordinare go to the Bronx Zoo!!!

A group of three insect collecting fiends bravely ventured to a land far far away called "the Bronx" this past Saturday. Their quest was to find all the insects and insect-themed attractions the Bronx Zoo had to offer (as well as see all the other really awesome but not as insect-y animals).

                     David "Beard" Kellner              Peter " Creepy" Flynn         Elizabeth "Sorority Squat" Schyling

            

                                                                             Their mug shots


The crew was a little overwhelmed on where to start this insect adventure....

The Bronx Zoo is huge!!

The first place the crew encountered insects was the "jungleworld" exhibit, and ENCOUNTER INSECTS THEY DID! This exhibit focused on animals in the rainforest and since insects account for much of the species diversity in a rainforest this exhibit focused on a variety of insect species. The lighting was dim in jungleworld so there are not pictures from this part of the adventure. Jungleworld had a lot of stick insects, which belong to the Phasmatodea order. One cool example was the huge Eurycantha calcarata  (the thorny devil stick insect), sometimes referred to as the "giant spiny stick insect". This species is endemic to the New Guinean rainforest, and resembles rotten wood. Females are usually about 6 inches long with a large abdomen.

Eurycantha calcarata

Not David with a thorny devil stick insect on his head

The next stop was the Congo Gorilla Forest! In this exhibit there were many different kinds of beetles for David, Peter, and Elizabeth to gawk at. They got so excited about beetles, since they are by far the most diverse group of insect -- as J.B.S Haldane once said, the Creator must have an "inordinate fondness for beetles!" They took a picture with a beautiful collection of pinned beetles.

Sorority Squatting Next to the Beetle Collection 

Charlie's Angels  Beetle Style (except David didn't get the memo)

Next was possibly the most fun part of the entire trip - the BUG CAROUSEL!!!!!!!! While most of the participants were under age 5, we were not ashamed because we did it in the name of SCIENCE.  Peter scared many of the children with his wild enthusiasm for hexapods.

                    

Peter chose an orthopteran as his steed, while David chose a mantodean, and Elizabeth chose a coleopteran. These matched their personalities well (SPIRIT ANIMALZ).






Question: Is this an arthropod or a chordate?  (Answer - this is a tapir, which is a chordate. Nice try.)

Then the dynamic trio decided to hit up the butterfly garden - a lepidopterist's paradise.  We brought our nets and kill jars, but the zoo staff seemed to frown upon this. The faunal diversity was astounding - there was even a gigantic luna moth.


The resemblance is uncanny.

David examines a butterfly (black swallowtail - Papilio polyxenes ?)

David spent hours to get this perfect shot of a butterfly with a semi-unfurled proboscis (modified mandibles and maxilla, evolved for sucking). Perhaps it had just been sipping nectar from a plant, or perhaps it was about to. The wings are blurry because it flew away just as the photo was taken.

Nice Hat, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth shows she is champion chewer - we knew it! She also uses her expert insect observation as we left the butterfly garden.


The expert adventurers left the Zoo feeling a sense of accomplishment for all that they had done and learned.

THE END!


Written by: David, Peter, and Elizabeth