Close encounters of the bug kind

When the glass door opens, you step into a fantastical wonderland, straight out of your dreams. About 700 butterflies — red, yellow, blue, lavender, pink, dotted, checkered and striped — flutter around trees, rows of bright flowers, and you.

You are inside the Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans, opened in 2018, right opposite the city’s mighty Mississippi River. It’s one of the few such repositories of insects in the world, where you can see bugs from across continents.

Even on a Wednesday morning, the place is teeming with tourists, students and researchers, checking out the 50-plus exhibits. “After the pandemic, there has been a renewed interest in the study of insects,” says Zack Lemann, curator of animal collections at the insectarium. Scientists and climatologists are turning to insects to find solutions to survive the heating planet. After all, they are the most resilient species we know. Also, most insects do have fast growth and short lives, so they are good subjects for studies wherein we wish to examine multiple generations in a fairly brief timeframe; this enables scientists to directly show shifts within a few years in some cases. “The cascading effects of such shifts can be massive since insects make up so much of the animal biomass on Earth,” says Lemann.

Plus, they are fascinating. Inside the butterfly room, one of the largest is the Yellow-edged Giant Owl Butterfly (Caligo atreus). Their wingspan averages 15 cm, which is pretty long in the butterfly world. These butterflies have false eyes on the underside of their hindwings, which deters predators.

The prettiest one has to be the Starry Night Cracker (Hamadryas laodamia). It has several sky blue dots on its black wings, just like the many stars on a clear night sky. But don’t be fooled by its looks. The blue-spotted wings serve as a warning to predators, signalling toxicity and an unpleasant taste.

After walking out of the butterfly room, the next stop is a glass box which seemed to house a plant. I could see it only when Lemann pointed to a stick-like object. It’s a Giant Malaysian Walking Stick (Phobaeticus serratipes). As the name suggests, it looks like a thin stick. The longest females of this species measure over 55 cm, and can reproduce by parthenogenesis, which is reproduction from an ovum without fertilisation, Lemann explains.

Next up, an attraction native to India. The hairy Tarantula spiders in the genus Poecilotheria. These are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which limits their imports and exports. They have vivid geometric patterns and contrasting colours on their bodies and legs. Legs span from 15 to 25 centimetres, and males are smaller and duller as compared to females. Their venom contains potent neurotoxins, which can cause severe muscle cramps in humans. Scared? The next bug is more savage. Meet Widow Spider. “Drop for drop, the spiders from genus Latrodectus, which India has four breeds of, are the most venomous animals in our collection,” says Lemann. These spiders are not large, but their venom is highly neurotoxic to humans. They leave sting marks on your skin; they can cause severe and painful cramps, nausea, sweating, hypertension and restlessness. Rarely fatal, but causes discomfort that lasts up to seven days. Females are typically black with a red hourglass marking and are more venomous than the smaller males.

Then there are the venomous European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Eastern Bumble Bees (Bombus impatiens), Red Velvet Ants (Dasymutilla occidentalis), Trap-jaw Ants (Odontomachus haematodus), Giant Centipedes (Scolopendra species) and Assassin Bugs in the genus Platymeris. But they are a health concern only if the person they bite is allergic to a particular venom.

Among the other awe-inspiring exhibits are the very social Leafcutter Ants. They have one of the largest and most complex colonies in the insect world, housing millions of ants. There is a single queen, responsible for reproduction. Then some workers forage and cut leaves. And soldiers defend the colony. Fascinatingly, they do not eat the leaves. They use leaf fragments as a substrate to cultivate a special fungus inside underground chambers, which is their food.

The insectarium has a small tasting section called the Bug Appetit, where they serve dishes with bugs. Don’t be grossed out. The insects are said to be the best climate-resistant food. On offer here are Cinnamon Bug Crunch, Crispy Cajun Crickets, Chilli-Fried Waxworms, Cicada Salad, and a cicada chocolate cookie. 

“The Audubon Insectarium is designed to excite people about the world of insects,” says Lemann. “And we hope they carry this enthusiasm for nature beyond our walls,” he adds.