BIO 401 Web Project.

                                          Curator: Ms. TaMeika Dickens     

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As curator of invertebrates, I am mainly interested in maintaining public awareness of the importance of these insects.  I am also interested in conservation of various species and promotion of research of various species.

Current monetary availability 5 M dong =$500,000

The plan of action is to capture the species in minimal quantities from areas where they are most prevalent, then breed them for the purpose of conservation in this ex situ environment.

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Honeybee introduction and quick beneficiary facts

Apis dorsata, or the giant honeybee is one of man's oldest insect friends. They give honey from honeycombs nearly 3 meters in diameter, beeswax, and fertilization of many cropbearing plants. The honeybee is a social insect, living in large colonies of from 20,000 to 80,000 individuals. This species of bee is mostly found in India, Indonesia, and central China, not Viet Nam.  This means it would be an added attraction for the museum. Honeybees, unlike other bees, do not hibernate during cold weather.They last through the rigors of northern winters by feeding on stored supplies and sharing their body heat by clustering together in dense packs. Therefore, temperature control will not be a problem in maintaining the honeybees.

Start-up and maintenance costs

The start-up costs for a minimum group size of honeybees is approximately 10Mdong which is $1,000. The cost to maintain the honeybee species is .25M dong or a mere $25.00 per year. To begin the habitat in the museum, the following items are needed: flowers ( can be planted from seeds and bought already fully grown, small trees and grasses (to create a natural habitat), jars for the collection of honey and beeswax.

Recommended captivity sites

The recommended viewing area will be a small room about 15x15 feet. The viewing window would be a solid glass window enclosing the front of the room.

More facts and benefits to the museum

The behavior and ecological status of the honeybee if released into the wild is fair-good. They could basically defend themselves and also are useful if released into the wild. Honeybees are good prospects for reintroduction into native habitats. Currently they are not immediately threatened in situ, but are not found in many areas of the world; only 3 countries. Honeybees are easy to maintain successfully upon captivity. The only medical constraints of reintroducing into the wild are the fact that their stings may cause allergic reaction in some people; they only sting when they are frustrated are provoked into anger.

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Viceroy

Viceroy quick facts

The viceroy butterfly has a wing span of 3 inches. It closely resembles the patterns of a monarch butterfly, with the exception of a thin black line that crosses the wing.  The marshy habitat of the viceroy has been greatly reduced; this insect is in some hazard of extinction. Since it closely resembles the monarch which is distasteful to predators, its reintroduction back into the wild would be ideal. Butterflies eat nectar, rotting fruits, and some the flesh of dead animals.  For the purpose of the museum, it would be in the best interest to provide rotting fruits or flower to provide nectar.

Start-up and Maintenance costs

The start-up costs of the viceroy and the honeybee are the same mere costs.

Added attraction

It is recommended that a special display of the stages in development of the viceroy be set-up in the museum for educational purposes. This display should be equipped with animated sounds, animated models of each of the four stages of the life cycle: the egg, larvae stage, pupa or resting state, and finally a butterfly.

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Green-ant fannies??? YUM

Licking ant fannies is a delicious delicacy for many enthusiasts. One satisfied consumer,Prue, recalls licking the ant fannies of ants from a Sour Sop tree, and stating that they tasted like sherbet!!! Another satisfied consumer, Chef Max Pantacchini says the ants add a bit of citrus taste to the food, if they are picked up on citrus fruits!!!! Gotta lick those fannies!!!

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Benefits of Invertebrates

Vertebrates have many benefits to nature and science and promote attractiveness of museums:

-critical pollinators for wild plants and agricultural crops (bees)

-extensively used in studies on insect physiology(stick-insects)

-important food sources for larger aquatic animals such as fish and

    also are good water quality indicators (dragonfly)

-common throughout range ; easily reared in captivity (caterpillar)

-important predators of insect pests of cashew and tea plantations

    (green ant)

-most of the wetland habitats depended upon by insects for survival

    have been drained and filled (dragonfly)

-play an important role in myth and superstition, and are equated with good fortune and intelligence (crickets).

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Educational and Promotional campaigns

More campaigns can be funded for the invertebrates since their maintenance and upkeep is so cheap.

Other programs that can be implemented to raise public awareness are :

-construction of well-defined flairs, giving information about featured invertebrates in the museum, educational components such as anatomy and physiology, how they contribute to the environment, and interesting facts about invertebrates.

-classes could be offered, for free to the public, educating them on invertebrate species conservation

-camps could also be offered, and given for free, utilizing the funds that carry over from the (approximately $3,000) from yearly maintenance costs. The camps could give youths first-hand experience in dealing with invertebrates in situ and ex situ

-promotional information and teachers could be paid to raise public awareness about careers involving conservation of invertebrates

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Works Cited

Morrish,P.2002.Online news article(ABC),(2pp).Available:http://www.abc.net.au/farnorth/stories/s537774.htm.November 12,2002.

Viceroy Butterfly,2002.Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.Available: NCLive/Infotrac: http://gme.grolier.com/cgi-bin/gme_bp?assetid=0303135-0.

Gibbs, J.et al.Problem-Solving in Conservation Biology and Wildlife Mangagement.Blackwell Science,Inc.Malden, Massachusetts,1998.