A new permanent exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences celebrates the diversity and life cycle of the butterfly.
By: Jillian Kalonick
There’s a bright, tropical, plant-filled spot in Philadelphia that, at a steamy 84 degrees, is a welcome oasis as long as you don’t mind sharing it with about 130 butterflies.
The first thing visitors notice at the Academy of Natural Sciences’ new permanent exhibition Butterflies! is the heat and humidity, but the more time spent in the 1,200-square-foot butterfly house, the more there is to see. Some butterflies make themselves easy to spot by hanging out on the walls, the ceiling, or even the floor, while others are camouflaged among their favorite nectaring plants. The great egg fly (Hypolinnas Bolina), which is particularly territorial, tends to pick the tallest person around as its perch. A pupae chamber, on view to visitors, holds up to 350 chrysalises, and butterfly keeper Mike Sikorski ("Butterfly Mike") often points out emerging butterflies.
Butterflies! opened Nov. 4 and replaces the Academy’s temporary butterfly house, which was 900 square feet and only meant to last for three years. The new facility has computer-regulated heat and humidity (75 percent, usually), with superior lighting and misters. A live animal kiosk is host to vividly colored poison dart frogs and insects, and computer stations offer interactive educational games.
Once a butterfly emerges from a chrysalis in the pupae chamber (not a cocoon only moths have those), it is kept in the chamber until its wings dry out. Mr. Sikorski releases them into the house at the beginning and end of his day. The pupae have an 85 percent emergence rate, and butterflies may live for one to three weeks in the house, depending on the species. While the previous butterfly exhibition was only able to support 80 or 90 species of butterflies, Mr. Sikorski says up to 500 species could thrive here. He receives shipments of pupae from Costa Rica, Florida, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and Australia, and is working with additional suppliers. U.S.D.A. regulations prohibit the breeding of butterflies in the exhibition (most are infertile, though some lay eggs), so a constant incoming supply is required.
Breakfast and dinner are sponges soaked in fruit punch or nectar, and Mr. Sikorski experiments with other foods. "They are really into peaches but they’re out of season right now," he says. "They’re not too fond of kiwis, but they like mangos and papayas tropical things. Right now I’m doing bananas." Mr. Sikorski says he’s planning on experimenting with offering the butterflies animal waste collected from the museum’s live animal exhibition (specifically from the coati and the kinkajou, which are tropical mammals), since butterflies in the wild often derive nourishment from dung.
Though visitors cannot touch butterflies, the more curious species often touch them, landing on clothing, bags or even heads. "They’re tame or domesticated, I guess you could say they get used to people and movement," says Mr. Sikorski. "I don’t know why or how, or whether it’s from me pulling them out of chamber. Maybe they get used to the smell, too there are a lot of smells in there, shampoos and perfumes." Some sport wings that seem a little worse for wear; Mr. Sikorski says this is called ragging and it’s natural. "I like to see it in the habitat because it means they are living for a while," he says. "They bump into flowers or plants, and the wings rip naturally. They can lose up to three quarters of their wings and still be able to fly."
Though different species can be seen at any given time in Butterflies!, the ones that seem to thrive are the atlas moth and rose swallowtail from Malaysia; the doris longwing, morpho and owl butterfly from Costa Rica; and the clouded mother of pearl from Kenya. Spots on the owl butterfly resemble intimidating eyes that scare away predators; most species have bright colors on the inside of their wings so they are visible to fellow butterflies in flight, and drab colors on the outside so they can camouflage themselves from predators while at rest.
Mr. Sikorski, who started at the Academy as a volunteer for its spider exhibit in 1996, began working with butterflies as a part-time manager the next year, and was hooked. "I like the diversity, not just in coloration, but in size, wing span and patterns," he says. "I like being able to teach people about their biology and behavior. I guess you could say I like to make sure they’re happy, and living as naturally as I can make it." And seeing a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis remains a magical experience. "I still get excited about watching it, no matter how many times I’ve seen it," says Mr. Sikorski. "I had two of them emerge today, and it was really neat to see them pop their wings up… How often do you see that in nature?"
Butterflies! is a permanent exhibition at the Academy of Natural Sciences,
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Phila. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun.,
holidays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Admission costs $10, $8 seniors/military/students/children, members free. Admission
to Butterflies! costs additional $2, members free. For information, call
(215) 299-1000. On the Web: www.ansp.org

