What happened to the Insectarium of Victoria?

JM01

JM01

Well-Known Member
I just found out that Victoria had an awesome Insectarium that was interactive and did nature walks. I had never heard about it before, did anyone go to it? Does anyone know why it shut down? Working in or owning my own Insect zoo was something I was potentially interested in but seeing that this one failed has put me off a bit
 
From some Googling, it sounds like it was mostly pinned displays (articles mention 60,000 specimens), although "breeding laboratories" are also mentioned.

It was sold in 2005 (ish) with the collection supposed to be housed elsewhere but it ended up being completely destroyed through neglect (if pinned insects aren't protected with chemical deterrents they get destroyed by live insects).
 
JM01 said:
I just found out that Victoria had an awesome Insectarium that was interactive and did nature walks. I had never heard about it before, did anyone go to it? Does anyone know why it shut down? Working in or owning my own Insect zoo was something I was potentially interested in but seeing that this one failed has put me off a bit
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I visited it prior to 2000 when I was at Heathcote. As @Chlidonias said it centered around a pinned collection that was a reference collection for the box-ironbark ecosystem. However the display at Heathcote (which was in a fairly small shed) had quite a few living specimens, and only a small portion of the pinned collection was on display. A feature was a Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish.

Soon after they moved to the disused railways goods shed at Woodend (a substantial 19th C structure). This would have given them much more room for displays and was also potentially a good business move, as Woodend is on the main route north and somewhat a tourism town in it's own right.

I can't remember the reason for it's sale in 2005 but it was because of personal issues for the owner. As often happens the new owners did not have the same level of commitment but I cannot tell you when it closed.

I do know there are efforts to get a reference collection together again involving the original owner but no talk of any public displays.
 
Greetings everyone. The former Insectarium of Victoria no longer exists but has morphed into the much more important oganisation known as the National Institute of Entomology. The main website is entoinstitute.org
The institute is the Primary Organisation that acts as the custodian of the last remaining entomological collection of insects and related invertebrates of the Central Victorian Region.
It is also responsible for the National Insect Expo (largest insect event in Australia) held yearly at the Buffalo Stadium, Woodend Vic. More details available at insectexpo.com.au
 
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