Sunday, June 25, 2017

The Bug Museum

We drove by the sign to the Bug Museum a few weeks back and I, of course, wanted to plan a visit. 


When you look up the museum on the Internet it doesn’t seem like there would be much to see but with other things to do in the area, we put it on our list too.

There is more here than just bugs!
Any guesses?

There were both live animals and collections.

Myrtle the turtle greeted us.

This is a Peanut Head Lanternfly from Costa Rica.  I will say that we have been to Costa Rica three times and have never seen a Peanut Head!

There was a wonderful beetle collection, very well displayed.

This Atlas Beetle from Malaysia is one of the largest insects on Earth.
The giant horns are used for battle with other Atlas Beetles.

Would this be the perfect RV pet?
Ant Farm

There are more than 10,000 types of ants around the world.

There were ant farms for sale in the gift shop (live ants were also available).

Of course, everyone needs a Hissing Cockroach from Madagascar.  At 3 inches, it is one of the largest species of cockroach.
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Affectionately known as “hisser”.

Would you recognize these as grasshoppers?

Giant Lubber Grasshoppers from Peru.

This is the real color of these grasshoppers wings.  With their wings closed, they blend into the plants and the predators do not see them.  But, if a predator gets to close - they spread their wings and the unexpected bright color scares away the predator.

We saw a lot more displays before heading to the reptile room:
California King snake (nonvenomous)

This Tokay Gecko from India is one of the largest in the world at 12” and is very aggressive with a strong bite.
Tokay Gecko can change the color of its skin to blend into the environment.

Did you recognize the toes from the earlier picture?
Day Gecko from Madagascar
The Geico commercial Gecko is thought to be modeled after a Day Gecko.

We looked at the rest of the reptiles then headed to the gift shop. 
Found a nice magnet for my collection.
Next time:  Back to the Alaska Journal

Teri

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