GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Creepy, crawly and kind of gross. If you asked a stranger on the street this is probably what they would tell you about bugs. However, if you ask the staff at the Grand Rapids Public Museum, they would have a very different answer!
That's because while they may make you uncomfortable, their new exhibit called BUGS is here to teach you all about their secret world and just what makes them so smart! We were able to get access to this exhibit in order to help explain just why that is!
The Question:
Are bugs really that smart?
Here's Why They Are:
Bugs have a variety of tactics at their disposal to gain an upper hand in the battle for life presented by mother nature! It's not just as simple as find food for today and reproduce more bugs for tomorrow.
The BUGS exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum walks you through many examples of this, and we'll briefly touch on some of the main ones. Let's start with the Dragonfly!
This amazing insect has speed, eye sight and extreme agility. These factors make it one of the mostly successful hunters in the entire natural world. Using the ability to independently move each of its four wings, this bug is almost unstoppable in the hunt, making it even more successful than a lion!
However, sometimes teaming up is the best method, like with the Japanese Honeybee!
While on their own, a wasp may be able to take them out with ease, but together they are powerful! When a threat is detected in their hive, these honeybees swarm it and vibrate their bodies in order to overheat and kill the intruder. This teamwork means that while some of them may die, the hive will live on.
While this method of survival proves very successful for these bees, sometimes going alone and hiding like the Orchid Mantis is the best move!
While most acts of camouflage seek to hide insects from predators, some use it to draw in their prey! This hunter pretends to be a flower in order to draw in pollinators looking for a sweet meal. What they don't know is when this mantis strikes, that snack run will be their last!
While all these skills have been impressive, the Jewel Wasp has the power to create real life zombies!
This wasp uses the power of mind control in order to create a suitable environment to raise its young. The wasp swoops in and paralyzes a cockroach with a powerful sting, then uses a second sting to rewire the mind of the roach in order to remove its will to escape. Next the wasp leads it underground, lays an egg, and the roach will become a meal for the soon to hatch offspring!
Ok, while impressive, that firmly falls into the creepy category as well.
That's just a small taste of what you can learn about bugs while this exhibit is here at the GRPM, so make sure you come on out for the full experience! Entry is free with standard admission, and the exhibit runs through February 4, 2024.
-- Meteorologist Michael Behrens
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