Earlier this month it was reported that the northern black widow spider is now taking up residence in Quebec. For many, that’s the kind of news that sends icy shivers up the spine. Now what if I told you something bigger has a home, well, closer to home?
Ever want to get eye to eight eyes with a Theraphosidae? Here’s your chance!
“Tarantula Spotted on Sparks Street” is headline most Ottawans don’t want to wake up to. Thankfully this creepy crawly isn’t skittering about the Stanley Cup monument or pulling up a bar stool over at D’Arcy McGee’s. This eight legged critter (along with some 40 leggers and a couple winged wonders) is part of the Ottawa Insectarium, the city’s newest attraction devoted to all things buggy.
Fun fact: about 1.5 million species of insects have been named to date but that’s not even close to the amount of bugs walking and flying around the planet. If you’ve ever wanted you very own insect for a pet there are more than enough to go around. To narrow things down by making things much, much bigger, current estimates place that number at ten quintillion. Yup, that’s 19 zeroes, folks…200 million for every human. What are you gonna’ name them? Seriously, though, there’s actually waaayyyy more bugs around right now then all the people that have ever been alive.
For most of those folks, the usual first reaction when finding a spider in the cupboard or a cockroach scuttling about the bathroom is to roll up the closest newspaper and promptly send the thing off to meet its maker with one well-placed el whamo. Those at the Insectarium are hoping to help curb such smushing with educational exhibits, talks and even a hands on approach that allows people to face their insectophobia, a fear that’s exceptionally common despite how important bugs are to our daily lives. Believe it or not (errr….but believe it!), a 2016 Chapman University study on American fears had people stating they were more afraid of insects than germs, being a victim of a violent crime or death.
But why? After all, insects recycle our waste, help produce the air we breathe and their pollinating helps feed us. Shouldn’t we be building shrines to these little things instead of crushing ‘em?
“In the modern world we have very little experience with positive encounters with insects,” says insect ecologist Jeffery Lockwood. He elaborates in his 2013 book The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loath and Love Insects, a pretty fascinating read if you want to dig even deeper into the world of bugs.
“Culture overlays our evolutionary tendencies. You could think of our fear and disgust of insects of being as a conspiracy of evolution and culture. And that is the state of the human mind at this point in our history.”
The folks at the Ottawa Insectarium break things down a little simpler: “It’s a small world we live in, let’s take care of it together.” Opening the museum last year was a way for them to increase the appreciation of insect life and invertebrate habitat with an emphasis on conservation and protection of environment.
With the numbers listed above you wouldn’t think we’d have to worry about lacking in bugs but in 2016 seven species of bees were added to the endangered list. The rusty patched bumble bee, for example, once fluttered throughout southeastern Canada. It became endangered last year when it was reported that they have declined in numbers by a staggering 91 percent in the last two decades.
The Ottawa Insectarium has been rooted in insect education even before it opened. It started as a pilot-project that visited local schools in effort to teach kids that bugs are our really our BFFs. Wanting to expand on these visits, the facility at 71 Sparks Street now houses many specimens from all over the world.
“The collection of specimens is incredible, but the best part was being able to hold live insects,” says Bill L. in his online review. He drew the line at getting touchy feely with the tarantula, though. “But there are millipedes, stick insects, and more. We will definitely return, but want to bring the kids next time!”
For $12.95 (adults) and $8.95 for those wee ones, visitors can see colourful displays and dioramas along with the supervised close encounters. Currently popular is the butterfly exhibit. Also, don’t forget to ask for tips on how you can start collecting an insectarium of your own. They’ll even help you frame it!
The museum website informs that you can “request a custom order and have something made for that special person or something special made just for yourself. You'll be glad to know that we get all of our specimens from ethical sources.”
While some might not be easily convinced that “tarantulas love to shake hands”, a visit to Ottawa’s Insectarium is sure to be an eye opener on the fascinating micro-verse that surrounds us. Now bug off!