EAZA News 57-12 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

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eaza news 57 2007 22 new enclosures The insect house and butterfly pavilion at Artis Royal Zoo Eugène Bruins and Ko Veltman, Artis Royal Zoo, Amsterdam, the Netherlands The insect house The former feed distribution centre of the zoo was entirely renovated and converted into the new insect house. Handicapped visitors were consulted during the design phase, which resulted in a building that is easily accessible for wheelchairs, and has easily readable information and hearing devices. Special guided tours for blind or deaf people are provided on request and insect models for (partially) blind visitors are available, so they can ‘see’ an insect by touching it. The visitor area of the insect house is approximately 250 m2 . Visitors can also view the keeper areas, since the doors to the keeper areas have large windows. The insect house displays about 55 invertebrate species in fifty insectariums. Not surprisingly, the insect house also displays invertebrate species that are not part of the insect kingdom, e.g. spiders, centipedes and snails. Three off-exhibit climate-controlled breeding rooms are located on the second floor of the insect house to ensure that enough insects can be displayed at all times. Only guided tours are allowed in the breeding rooms. Thematic presentations A fast-moving slide show in the insect house presents information on invertebrate life, to arouse the visitors curiosity and invite them into the invertebrate world. The residents of the Insect House are being displayed according to themes. The theme ‘successful survival’ uses skeletons of each vertebrate class to explain the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates (surprisingly few people know this). By sticking their head in three human-sized models, visitors can see themselves with a human skeleton, an insect body and a knight’s armour. This illustrates the fact that humans need bones to be able to stand up, that insects protect themselves by an external skeleton and that humans used the external skeleton idea to protect themselves in combat. HRH Princess Margriet photo ronald van weeren/artis royal zoo Insects generally do not receive the same attention as vertebrates in zoos. However, insects have been accorded the attention they deserve in Artis Royal Zoo (Amsterdam) for more than a century. The new insect house opened in July 2005, which is in fact the third insect house since 1898, the year in which Artis began to display insects. A butterfly pavilion was added in 2006. Other themes include eating and being eaten, reproduction, endangered invertebrates and the relationship between man and insect. One can also peek into Dutch invertebrate life; red wood ants, ant lions and bumblebees live together in a mixed-species enclosure. The ants live on an island and walk through a 6 m transparent tube to their foraging area. Ants that escape are eaten by the ant lions that live in the surrounding sandy parts of the enclosure. The bumblebees fly around while feeding on flowers in the enclosure. ‘In-nest’ activities of both ants and bumblebees are presented via a video screen next to the enclosure. In addition to the thematic presentations, ‘Expedition Prikkebeen’ (named after a classic Dutch children’s story) includes several educational games and tasks. Most popular is an interactive game in which visitors can construct their own insect by selecting a type of body, head, legs and wings. This game teaches visitors that insects have six legs and a special body shape. photo eugène bruins/artis royal zoo
Termites nest photo eugène bruins/artis royal zoo A 1.5 - year-old nest of the African termite (Macrotermes bellicosus) was added to the insect house in July 2006. The nest, which was kindly donated by Basel Zoo, then weighed 240 kg and measured 90 cm in height. The nest, grown in two plastic crates placed on a board, was transported by the transport firm Ekipa. A temperature just below 26°C kept the termites inside their nest, so no further protection was needed. The nest is now housed in an 4.5 x 2.1 m enclosure. The height right above the nest is 3.1 m. The nest was placed on a 380 x 160 cm bed of loam and clay, with a depth of 45 cm. Water flows around this area, to protect the termites from escaping (the insect house mainly consists of wood…). A 50 mm diameter PVC pipe goes from the nest through the concrete floor of the enclosure to groundwater level. With this constant access to the groundwater, the termites can regulate the moisture level within the nest themselves. The temperature is kept at 27°C. The termites are fed several times a week with hay, straw, wood or elephant dung (a favourite!) and often the termites can be spotted eating. About once every week, thousands of termites suddenly start expanding the nest, producing a new bump 35 cm in diameter, about 3 cm thick, within approximately two hours. The educational presentation now consists of an information panel and a video screen. We plan to construct a camera above the feeding site for live footage. Visitors are much attracted by this new, interesting enclosure. Butterfly pavilion The insect collection in Artis Royal Zoo grew even more after the inauguration of the butterfly pavilion on 4 October 2006, by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet. A team of butterfly specialists, architects, landscape artists, botanists and educators worked together to turn a unique concept into reality in the pavilion’s design and construction. The aim was not to reproduce an entirely natural environment, but to create a spatial experience in a 1000 m2 large greenhouse. Butterflies flutter through the air and alight on flowers in colourful patches as visitors wander around freely. The pavilion is an island in the zoo and the pavilion itself also has a pattern of green and colourful islands. This pattern reflects the atmosphere of the historical zoo with its curved paths and surprises around every corner. new enclosures The pavilion is kept at a constant 27°C and a large waterfall ensures a high relative humidity. A specially designed roof, consisting of three layers of plastic between which air is blown, provides the greenhouse with much natural sunlight. No additional lighting is used to increase butterfly activity, as no butterfly house could really assure us that this method would help. Seven main species Visitors in the butterfly pavilion can enjoy a wealth of tropical butterfly species, of which seven are selected to be the main species; the postman butterfly (Heliconius melpomene), the glasswing (Greta oto), the morpho butterfly (Morpho sp.), the owl butterfly (Caligo sp.), the atlas moth (Attacus atlas), the Thoas swallowtail (Papilio thoas) and the paper butterfly (Idea leuconoe). Breeding is done mostly for educational purposes and mainly with postman butterflies, since their pupae are difficult to transport. Visitors can see the caterpillars grow in a separate breeding area of 50 m2 next to the butterfly house, and how once a week newly arrived pupae are put on a needle before being placed in the pupae cabinet. photo eugène bruins/artis royal zoo More than butterflies One will not only find butterflies in the butterfly pavilion, but other species as well. Leafcutter ants have to walk 7 m from their nest through a transparent tube to reach their feeding terrarium. Some visitors are pleasantly surprised when they spot a Guyana grasshopper (Tropidacris collaris) or a fruit beetle (Pachnoda marginata) between the plants. By releasing only males, it is guaranteed that no plague of these species develops. Several bird species are planned to be released for biological control. Hummingbirds are deployed to combat spiders, as they construct their nests from spider web gossamer. Quails will forage on the floor of the pavilion, functioning as a ‘natural’ enemy to the ‘local’ ants. The excreta of these and other bird species are vital to the glasswing butterfly, which needs the minerals in these faeces as food. • With the insect house, Artis Royal Zoo has created a new benchmark for invertebrate exhibitions in the Netherlands and Europe. The butterfly pavilion further reinforced this reputation. Both exhibitions attract many visitors. eaza news 57 2007 23
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EAZA News 57-12 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

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