Mundos de los Insectos

Oh hi! I loved the Butterfly garden sooo much that I persuaded Wiji to have a quick coffee break and come to the Insect house that I had seen on the bus in. He didn't really need that much persuading really. So we set off again up and down some very, very steep hills and got to the place, where it looked like they had had a landslide recently, but apparently it was just building work...all very precarious.

Once inside we opted for a guided tour again and spent some time looking around the dead insect collection arranged in country of origin. This reminded me of going to Tring museum in Buckinghamshire with Michael and Jennypin. We used to spend ages pulling out the draws and draws of mounted butterflies and insects. Sadly for me they were positioned next to a balcony and I hated heights, but couldn't resist looking in the draws. Jennypin's friend had dressed two fleas as a bride and groom and you could view these under a magnifying glass. What kind of job is that, dressing fleas?!

Our guide took us into a massive warehouse that was climate controlled and full of exotic plants. He first introduced us to the Harlequin beetle. This beetle eats oak. It has very long front feet so that it can hold onto the trees and leaves in high wind. It's joints were ball and socket joints, and when he turned it upside down, it rotated it's limbs with a grinding noise. It was beautiful!


Here is a water beetle, that is apparently quite rare. It lives in shallow water with rotting leaves and feeds on small fish and snails. It is poisionous and could paralise your hand temporarily if it stung you. (I could not help thinking about wading about in the soft leaf mulch of the waterfall...LOL). It uses it's poision and front pincers to disable prey. It also emits a nasty stink. Our guide really didn't want to get too close to it, that was for sure.


Oh hi! This is brilliant! We zoomed in on this image to get the full benefit of its eyes. LOL. We have seen these flying around at night in Omepete. The female has a triangular area where the head meets the thorax that she rubs her wing cases on to call a mate. The female also has a long spike on her abdomen that she uses to make a hole to lay eggs in.This one is male and was the size of my index finger. It was interesting watching all the mouth parts move from behind the glass.


A golden orb spider. There were several in a large tank that you could put your head in, which I did to get this pick. The webs were enormous and we got to touch the strands on the outer edge, these were really strong, flexible and quite thick. It's web apparently looks like a golden orb in sunlight, coining its name. These were about 2 inches long.


This is the owl caterpillar on a banana palm


And here's the owl butterfly with its striking markings. These were flying around as we walked around.


A tank with scorpions hiding under bark. They looked very crumpled.


There is a black scorpion here balanced on the right hand stump of cactus branch.


Tiny spider mites encased in a web around a leaf was interesting, but not really part of the exhibits, more a house plant disaster.


We had to look around the tank to find these two. When the guide got them out so that we could touch them, we were both amazed to find that the wing case that looks exactly like a leaf, really feels like a living leaf too. They also have markings that mimic the disease markings that their particular host tree would have. Underneath the leaf wing exterior were some small pink translucent wings. Really beautiful.


Wiji got in the tank to do this one, he even volunteered!


A bit closer...


An orange kneed tarantula in the tank mock up of the hole that she would live in, that could be as much as two meters deep. They need humidity underground and need to escape the heat of the day because are nocturnal. She is hodling onto her egg sack.


The hercules beetle. What a gem. Its pincers on its head can crush your finger apparently (deja vu, moi?) It can lift 800 times its own body weight and is the strongest insect in the world. He was quite happy to let me hold it, but it was quite quick and I didn't fancy my chances given that my nail has only just grown back after hermit-gate. Later I really regretted being sensible and wished I had held it, and bored Wiji with my regrets. Boo.


I did stroke it with my finger, of course. We could see its twinkly eyes, very beautiful.


One for Michael. What a beast!


A whole tank full of stick insects, they can shed their skin to change colour to fit in with the foilage that they are on.


I am loving it!


Another orange kneed tarantula. This was larger and used to being handled...whatever. It was much bigger than the zebra tarantula at the butterfly garden. It was sooo velvety, I wanted to really feel its body, but thats not really appropriate! Its abdomen has a shiny area where it generates its web silk from. They put live crickets in the tank for the tarantulas to catch. Sadly we didn't see this.


Yes, I'll hold it in my hot hands. Will it mind? No, apparently not. We were all wedged into a small area, Wiji, the guide and myself all had to do a bit of a dance so that he could take the photo. I felt slightly hysterical! It was brilliant!


Wiji had a hold. Mmm, not as hysterical, just keeping still. Very sensible. Its covering its face here because of the light.


One not to hold, a banana palm spider. It is deadly poisionous and can kill a grown man in three hours. Nice camouflage. With its long legs, it would have fitted into the length of my palm.


Here is Wiji with his favourite insect: Gloria the praying mantis! Wiji was straight in there, she really took his fancy. Yesterday she had eaten her life long friend Jessica. Our guide was genuinely distrought about it. He saw it happen, but had to leave them. Gloria had part of her front leg missing as a result. After Gloria had killed jesssica, she ate her. Bye bye.


Here she is checking the time, facing his watch. Her head moves in a considered manner from side to side and up and down. She was really looking around.


Some juvenile owl caterpillars on a banana palm leaf.


And that was then end of our tour. I really could not leave without holding the Harlequin beetle for myself, so I asked if I could. He said that it might bite with its pincers and could draw blood with the claws on the end of its legs...don't sell it to me then! Just when I thought he wouldn't let me, he opened the tank and passed me the beetle.

Check out the huge front legs for hanging on in the wind.


Holding onto my finger nails.


How stunning! I was in love! At the front of the thorax next to the head the patternation was raised with dots and looks like a gradiated fill, then thre pattern just becomes silken over the wing case. Really stunning underneath too, where the colour and patternation continues. The added bonus of the noise and moving rotating parts that he described at hydraulic (?) was just perfect! After initially trying to put me off, he then said that I could buy one with the importation documents from him! We had to decline. We've already sent some mad stuff back to Michael's, so you'll be pleased to know this isn't on its way! LOL.


After much admiring of the harlequin beetle I had to give it back. Boo. I really loved holding it. Isn't it beautiful!? Apparently I didn't shut up about it...whatever.

We had one last look around. I took a picture of these hercules beetles because our guide's dad kept one in the house. He fondly remenbers it whirring around the living room!


Sadly, some dead harlequin beetles, in various sizes.


How fantastic!! I can't help wondering if my harlequin beetle is missing me?