General insect pavilion?

[Pycnogonid]

We all know what butterfly pavilions are right? At butterfly world? Where you can walk through and see butterflies up close and all? Now, what if, there was something like this except instead of butterflies it's insects in general? A general insect pavilion. What I have in mind looks basically like any butterfly walk through, but for insects in general. Though, my idea also has a small pond for some aquatic stuff.

In order to be suitable, the animal has to be both harmless to humans and able to peacefully co exist with the other bugs. Here are my ideas on what would be good animals to add:

Coleoptera: Many, many possibilities. The most obvious ones are large ones like stag, rhino and hercules beetles, but there are many other candidates as well. Weevils, rain beetles, longhorns, june beetles, etc.
Diptera: A LOT of flies live on nectar so many of them would be good. Soldier flies and crane flies would also make nice choices.
Lepidoptera: Just about any of them lol
Hymenoptera: The choices here are rather limited for obvious reasons. Among the ones I have thought of are sweat bees and sawflies
Hemiptera: Aphids, rice bugs, scale insects, cicadas, (non predatory) stinkbugs, etc. Yeah, a lot
Blattodea: Most would work, cockroaches tend not to be that aggressive
Phasmatodea: All of them are viable candidates, not much more needs to be said
Embioptera: Again, all of them
Zoraptera: They only eat rotting wood so they're fine
Psocodea: Most book lice and bark lice fit the bill
Orthopteran: Most grasshoppers are good fits. A particularly nice example is the lubber grasshopper.
Plecoptera: All are either herbivorous or non eating, and most larvae are herbivorous. Sounds good
Mecoptera: Some are herbivorous, but most aren't
Silverfish: Pretty much all of them would work
Archeognatha: Again, all would work
Ephemeroptera: Most would, as they have mostly herbivorous larvae and non eating adults
Odonata, Strepsiptera, Notoptera, Mantodea, Megaloptera: Lol no

And while we're at it, might as well cover other arthropods.

Arachnids: Many herbivorous mites and harvestmen
Myriapods: Most millipedes, pretty much no centipedes
Crustaceans: Most terrestrial isopods are viable, maybe some herbivorous shrimp for the pond. Many copepods and water fleas are technically viable, but no one would be able to see them.
Protura, Collembola, Diplura: Most would technically work, but they would be very hard to see

So, what do you think?

 

[Chlidonias]

I'm not sure it would be a viable idea in the real world. Butterfly houses work because people like butterflies - they are considered beautiful and harmless, and they are very visible. Most other terrestrial invertebrates are nocturnal, remain hidden (because they are prey items), or are too small to even be noticeable. Also people don't like "bugs" in general, and something like a room full of sweat bees would be crazy. Have you ever been in the tropics? Sweat bees are a real nuisance even though they are harmless.

As a concept it is interesting, but not in reality as a successful exhibit.

 

[ZooBinh]

Shouldn't this be in the fantasy forum? Anyways, this would not be successful at all. Someone's gonna squash some of the bugs at some point.

 

[DavidBrown]

London Zoo and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum have done walk-through spider pavilions. There are pictures of them in the gallery.

Several zoos have natural areas with ponds and other features that are specifically set up to attract invertebrates and often have trails and interpretive signage about invertebrates. This is kind of a version of your idea.

 

[Pycnogonid]

Shouldn't this be in the fantasy forum? Anyways, this would not be successful at all. Someone's gonna squash some of the bugs at some point.

Why would that happen? If someone hates bugs enough to kill them they wouldn't be in there to begin with.

Butterfly houses work because people like butterflies - they are considered beautiful and harmless, and they are very visible. Most other terrestrial invertebrates are nocturnal, remain hidden (because they are prey items), or are too small to even be noticeable

Many moths, flies, beetles, grasshoppers, phasmids and even cockroaches are quite noticeable, completely harmless and very colorful.

 

[ZooBinh]

Why would that happen? If someone hates bugs enough to kill them they wouldn't be in there to begin with.

Because some people are stupid enough to do that.

 

[Daktari JG]

they already are successful, course butterflies are included
Insectarium :: Saint Louis Zoo

 

[Chlidonias]

Why would that happen? If someone hates bugs enough to kill them they wouldn't be in there to begin with.

Same reason people go into nocturnal houses and start screaming because they're afraid of the dark, or go into a reptile house and start freaking out over the snakes, or indeed go to a zoo and then complain that animals shouldn't be in captivity.

 

[Hyak_II]

Yes, like others said, this idea would not work well whatsoever, at all. Visually you would just end up with something very similar to a butterfly garden, besides perhaps some spider webs with butterfly's caught in them, which would not be a crowd pleaser at all. The vast majority of species you mentioned are small and nocturnal, as others said, and you would never see them. You would also run into bugs getting stepped on CONSTANTLY. It's a big enough risk in budgie feeding aviaries where the birds are small, cute and conspicuous. In a big room where the bugs are smaller, slower, and blend in better, it would be crunch town.

Also I doubt that there is a single zoo visitor that really truly wants to experience a walk though bee exhibit (well perhaps 1-2% of all visitors) I hate being swarmed by bugs and I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in a swarming flying insect exhibit.

Also your plants would look like crap. You would have lots of bugs munching on them, and your exhibit would need to be small for all the non-flying things to even have a chance of possibly being seen regularly, which would turn into a rough situation for the plants over time.

 

[Ned]

The North Somerset Butterfly House also had stick insects roaming free, however, it's now closed down.

 

[Mr. Zootycoon]

The idea seems nice on paper, but not in the real word. Most of the species you note are not suitable for a walkthrough enclosure, with the exceptions of butterflies, stingless bees and certain spiders. Visitors won't be able to see (or notice) much of the collection, and it would an enormous challenge for the keepers to say the least - unless you want to throw in as much species as possible and hope for the best. Besides, just think what happens when an adult male Dynastes beetle smashes into the face of one of your visitors. If you ever succeed in rearing it to adulthood in this setting that is...

Insects and other invertebrates are still mostly unexplored by zoos, and I strongly believe creative zoos with the right people in charge can do extraordinary things and build unique enclosures. Invertebrate husbandry can be challenging and making an interesting display even more so, but it is also the area where innovative zoos can truly excel. Just think about Burgers' Zoo's mudflat for fiddler crabs.

 

[Kakapo]

Coleoptera: Many, many possibilities. The most obvious ones are large ones like stag, rhino and hercules beetles, but there are many other candidates as well. Weevils, rain beetles, longhorns, june beetles, etc.

Stag beetles are able to powerful bites, overall the females. Hercules beetles also can do some harm on a hand holding them. Weevils are mostly specialized feeders, overall the few species that are enough big and colorful for catch the attention of peoples. Most longhorns are nocturnal and many are specialized feeders that needs certain species of rotting log, and all longhorns that are enough big for catch the attention of people have a powerful bite.

Diptera: A LOT of flies live on nectar so many of them would be good. Soldier flies and crane flies would also make nice choices.

Almost none dipteran is enough big for catch the attention of the average visitor of these kind of places. Soldierflies are breeded for making compost (in the case of the so well known Hermetia illucens), not for show the insects itself. Almost all craneflies have dull colours and almost all visitors would think in them as giant mosquitoes, and will be afraid of them, no matter of how many signage do you put explaining that they are harmless. This happens almost always that I see people reacting to wild craneflies.

Lepidoptera: Just about any of them lol

Any? Including a free-breeding colony of Automeris, megalopygids and other species whose caterpillars can be extremely painful?

Hymenoptera: The choices here are rather limited for obvious reasons. Among the ones I have thought of are sweat bees and sawflies

Not much more limited than most insect groups... For making this thread you only considered hervibory and "stinglessly", but many other characteristics must be taken in account. Few hymenopterans are enough big to catch the visitor attention, and the ones that are enough big are not suitable for mixed exhibits (Pepsis would harm spiders, Megascolia would harm beetles, Vespa would harm visitors, etc). The only sawlies that are enough big for be attractive to visitors are Siricidae, but they are all temperate species that can't go in a tropical hall as the one you plan.

Hemiptera: Aphids, rice bugs, scale insects, cicadas, (non predatory) stinkbugs, etc. Yeah, a lot

Nobody will ever look at aphids. Same for scale insects, even for the few species that are enough big, nobody will watch an insect that pass it's life completely quiet and fixed to a substrate. Stinkbugs usually will damage too much the plants into a closed environment as is a greenhouse (and of course aphids and scale insect even more). Most cicadas are difficult to breed in captivity, they need a good replica of the climate of the zones that they come from. And insects that pass most of it's life cicle underground are not what the visitors want watch. Fulgorids and some flatids are probably better substitutes than most cicadas.

Blattodea: Most would work, cockroaches tend not to be that aggressive

No matter than only three or four of the hundreds of species of cockroaches are domestic pests. Average people will think in the whole group as in something horrendous and creepy. Believe me, I once tried to make a person that was very afraid of roaches to curate himself by showing some of the most beautiful cockroaches in the world, such as Paraplectana coccinella and Melyroidea magnifica. It didn't worked. People will not want to enter in a walkthrough exhibit with cockroaches. Plus, almost every species are nocturnal and will remain hidden during visitor time.

Phasmatodea: All of them are viable candidates, not much more needs to be said

All of them? You will risk to put some Heteropteryx dilatata in a walkthrough exhibit? The visitors will try to touch them, and they will close their powerful spiny hind legs on the visitor fingers. Then you will have some troubles... and maybe authorities will force you to close the place after some accidents...

Embioptera: Again, all of them
Zoraptera: They only eat rotting wood so they're fine
Psocodea: Most book lice and bark lice fit the bill

Nobody will care about tiny dull spinners that pass the day hidden in silk funnels under stones and are impossible to see unless specifically searched. Zorapterans and barklice are similarly inconspicuous and hidden and too small for attract visitors. For psocopterans only some tropical species are colorful, colonial and diurnal, but even them are too small for get attention.

Orthopteran: Most grasshoppers are good fits. A particularly nice example is the lubber grasshopper.

I'm not totally sure. Venomous insects in walkthrough exhibits works fine in the case of monarch butterflies and postmans, but a non-flying grasshopper is a subject that many kids will try to catch with their hands, unlike butterflies that can fly quickly. The defensive liquid that most grasshoppers produce in the mouth when caught is, as better, unpleasant, and I think that in colorful big species such as Romalea, Phymateus, etc, can be toxic? (maybe Batto can correct me). Anyway this time I'm agree with you, many grasshoppers would be suitable. But also take in account that most big katydids have a powerful bite.

Plecoptera: All are either herbivorous or non eating, and most larvae are herbivorous. Sounds good

The stoneflies cycle of life are extremely difficult to replicate. They need clean, generally current and generally cold waters. Adults are too inactive to catch the visitor attention, and all are dull-coloured.

Mecoptera: Some are herbivorous, but most aren't

I don't know any herbivorous mecopteran. The only ones that maaaaybe catch the attention of visitors are panorpids (combination of medium size, strange shape and colorful wings), and these are all predatory.

Silverfish: Pretty much all of them would work
Archeognatha: Again, all would work

Nobody will look at any species of secretive, small and dull insect such as every species of silverfishes (Zygentoma) and bronzefishes (Microcoryphia).

Ephemeroptera: Most would, as they have mostly herbivorous larvae and non eating adults

For the life cycle, same than Plecoptera. But adding the inconvenience of an adult lifespan from some hours to some days. Visitors will not care about the (always hidding) nymphs, they will only look at the (too inactive) adults, that in very few species will be enough big gor attract visitors.

Odonata, Strepsiptera, Notoptera, Mantodea, Megaloptera: Lol no

You are ruling out predatory species by definition. I don't see a true reason for do it. Predatory species that feed on small prey items or specialized on unwanted prey items (for example jewel wasp on cockroaches) can mix successfully with other species in a walkthrough. If you exhibit only bigger insects you can introduce damselflies (would be cool a Megaloprepus coerulatus flying in this kind of exhibit), or mantids and neuropterans that are specialized in smaller preys that you provide plenty of (fruitflies, house flies, springtails, L1 nymphs of crickets/roaches, etc... all of them available commercially). See next image of my terrarium many years ago (when I was in the age of keeping terrariums, hehehe). The small-prey-feeder Empusa never was got interested in a big and hard Blaps lethifera...



By the way, what the heck is "Notoptera"????????

So, what do you think?

What I think is that if every zoo shows their non-butterfly insects in closed terrariums at sight level, it's for a reason... or for various, both thinking in the visibility and easiness to find and to care the insects, as thinking in the average visitor reaction of being surrounded of free ranging insects.

The thing that Chlidonias said about behavious of visitors that are afraid of what they visit is completely true. I remember a family visiting the pinned specimen collection of fabulous tropical insect at Faunia... about four times each minute they limited themselves to express loudly how creepy and horrendous are the creatures that they was looking at, even if they are jewel beetles or longhorns with rainbow colours and with no spines...

 

[Batto]

Venomous insects in walkthrough exhibits works fine in the case of monarch butterflies and postmans,

If I might correct: said species are poisonous, not venomous.

 

[Kakapo]

What's the difference between both words?

 

[Kakapo]

...showing some of the most beautiful cockroaches in the world, such as Paraplectana coccinella and Melyroidea magnifica.

Sorry my mistake, mixed in my head two names. Paraplectana are spiders. I mean Prosoplecta coccinella.

 

[Chlidonias]

What's the difference between both words?

Basically, poison is consumed, venom is injected.

So a butterly is poisonous because it must be eaten. A scorpion is venomous because it uses a sting to inject the toxin into you. You can eat a scorpion because it isn't poisonous.

 

[Kakapo]

Ahhhhh. Yes, then they're poisonous. Thanks for make me learn the differences. In spanish same word tend to be used for both kinds of toxicity.

 

[Jurek7]

Most of these animals are unviable, as others pointed. Flower beetles Pachnoda might work. They could be realtively easy to try.

Some stick insects and leaf insects could work. However more probably they would not be noticed by visitors. Alternatively, they might breed too much and have to be removed. They and some other invertebrates you mentioned can be better kept in open exhibits/separated areas within the butterfly hall.

See also this thread:
So you think you know how to exhibit invertebrates? Ultimate insect house

 

[Batto]

What's the difference between both words?

Short answer: If you bite it and die, it is poisonous; if it bites [or stings] you and you die, it is venomous.
What’s the Difference Between Venomous and Poisonous?
Toxic

 

[Kakapo]

That reminded me the infallible method for distinguish a brown bear from a black bear: you must go and kick the bear in its ass, run away and climb to a tree. If the bear climb the tree and eat you, it's a black bear, if it shoot down the tree and eat you, it's a brown bear