Insects Use Plants Like A Telephone

Scientists have discovered that underground plant-eating insects can communicate with above-ground plant-eating insects using plants like telephones!

The underground plant-eating insects convey chemical messages through the plant stem and leaves, telling above-ground insects that they are there. The message is: "stay away, this is my plant! If you eat it too, it will die and we'll both have no food." This is a great way to spread out the "plant buffet" so that everybody gets enough food and the plants will survive to feed the bugs another day.

Sometimes this can backfire on the underground insects; parasitic wasps can intercept the signal and learn where the insects underground are, thus finding easy prey for their young.

Click here for the full story: Insects Use Plants Like A Telephone

Butterfly "Zoo" Photos

I have visited a couple of "butterfly zoos" in the past year or so, and thought you all would like to see some of the photos I took.

First, we see how the butterflies come to the zoos. They are shipped from butterfly farms as live chrysalids (the "cocoon"), and they hatch when they get to the zoo.

Here is Papilio palinurus daedalus, a species I sometimes use. They look so different in a natural setting!
Below left, one of my favorite photos, a photo of my husband in front of some Atlas Moths (Attacus atlas), the largest moth OR butterfly in the world! Look at the size of them! I have used these before as well. Note the Atlas Moth cocoons hanging above and between the two moths. They are so large that the "empties" are used by locals in Indonesia as coin purses!

Below, to the right, a lovely photo of a Morpho (unknown species). You can see kind of how the butterfly zoo is set up in this picture; it's basically a greenhouse with lots of butterflies just flying free!

Below, Graphium agamemnon. One of my favorite species to use!
Below, Papilio rumanzovia (female). Another of my commonly

used butterflies.

Here, you see a caterpillar! I can't say what kind of caterpillar; probably some kind of moth, judging from how hairy it is!
More photos of chrysalids and newly emerged butterflies! I think it's so cool how they have hundreds of beautiful live chrysalids all in rows like this! What a fun place to work at!

Below, a pair of Ornithoptera priamus poseidon Birdwing

Butterflies. The male is on the right, dancing for female.

Here is a close-up of the female Birdwing. Notice how tattered her wings are. Most butterflies get surprisingly tattered and worn just from flying around.
A close relative of our Monarch, this is Idea leucone, one of my favorites.

Celebrity Purchase!

Andrew Zimmern, host of "Bizaare Foods" on the Travel Channel, has purchased a few of my framed pieces to give as gifts! What a fun TV show; have any of you ever seen the fascinating and exotic things he eats?? Since my degree is in Anthropology, I find it especially interesting. Since he has eaten so many insects, my pieces were a great fit for Mr. Zimmern!

He gave me a kind mention in his blog; here's what he had to say:

Now that's my kind of art! Recently, I stumbled upon the work of Katie Jennings (VanBlaricum), a Lawrence, Kans. artist and entomology enthusiast. Katie makes pieces using real insects from around the world. I purchased a few pieces from her site, insectartonline.com, as gifts recently, and they are even more gorgeous in person.

Here's how she operates: The insects arrive dried out and all folded up. She re-hydrates the critters to make them flexible again, and then spread thems out on a styrofoam board with sewing pins and little strips of paper. She doesn't put any pins through the bodies, leaving them natural-looking and lifelike. Lastly, Katy picks a cool and artsy background for the shadowbox frame and glue the insects onto that. The whole process takes several days, and each end result is unique, and nothing like those stale displays from your high school bio class.

Extreme Wings

If you haven't seen Damien Hirst's artwork made out of butterfly wings, you can catch up here! Installed in the Gagosian Gallery in LA in 2007, this collection of "paintings" is truly awesome. Hirst has used hundreds of thousands of real butterfly wings to piece together his version of stained-glass windows.

Besides the more benign butterfly wing art, Hirst is also known for his controversial work involving larger dead animals. Perhaps you have heard of his most famous piece, the real dead shark encased in a huge acrylic cube? He uses dead animals to make statements about life and death. His work has sold for millions of dollars, making him the richest living artist.

Perhaps the butterfly wing pieces could be viewed in this way: The butterflies have finished living, but even in a state of death, they continue to "live on", amazing us.

I encourage you to do a Google image search on his work if you have a strong stomach and you want to see something truly unique. In the mean time, enjoy these photos of the butterfly wing pieces.

About Christopher Marley...

Hello Everyone,

In case you stumbled upon this site in an attempt to search for Christopher Marley's insect work, you should know that I am not him. Apparently, he was on CBS this morning, and lots of people have been e-mailing me thinking that I am him. I make similar artwork with real insects, but I am not affiliated with Marley. If you are trying to contact him, you'll have to contact his "people" at Pomagranate Publishing.

Perhaps you, like me, are enamored with Marley's work but cannot afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a piece of your own. If so, you should check out my online store, as my pieces are similar, but are smaller and much more affordable. My framed artwork starts at $40. http://www.aquakej.etsy.com/ is my online store.

Thank you!

Katie VanBlaricum

Monarchs in Space!

Here in Lawrence, KS, we're lucky to have Monarch Watch, a premier international organization that researches and works to conserve the Monarch Butterfly. Recently, they have taken things to a whole new level by launching Monarch caterpillars into space! Check out this article from our local paper, the Lawrence Journal World, then you can go to the Monarch Watch website for everything you ever wanted to know about Monarch butterflies (including how to raise your own!) http://www.monarchwatch.org/

The International Space Station is getting some unusual new temporary residents — monarch butterflies from Kansas University’s Monarch Watch program.

Chip Taylor, director of Monarch Watch, said that three butterfly larvae will be sent into space, and would be observed throughout their development.

Students in more than 425 schools across the eastern part of the country will follow along with the experiment, using kits from Monarch Watch to observe their own monarchs, comparing their results with the space experiment.

Cameras will be set up, and results will be shown on a Web site, www.monarchwatch.org/space.

“It’s going to be fun,” Taylor said. “The kids are going to be able to see the full process in their classrooms.”

Taylor said he doesn’t know how the monarchs will fare in the near-weightless environment, but whatever happens, scientists will learn more about the capabilities of the species.

KU’s Monarch Watch program, which tracks the migration patterns of the butterflies on an annual basis, got involved with the space program after developing an artificial diet that can sustain the animals in space.

Response from schools has been much higher than anticipated, Taylor said. He sent out an e-mail asking for 20 interested participants and received more than 1,000 replies.

The artificial diet — something it took Taylor more than 20 months and more than 90 failed attempts to create — may also have other applications for the program. Already, he said, he’s received offers to participate in projects such as mapping the monarch’s genome.

Ladybugs in Your House?

This time of year, I always notice ladybugs trying to get into my house and other buildings. In fact, there is one flying around in here right now! Why are they doing this? Read the following Q&As from "The Ladybug Lady" to find out:

Q. Why do ladybugs come into my house in the winter time?

A. Ladybugs are attracted to the light colored houses. Especially, homes that have a clear southwestern sun exposure. Older homes tend to experience more problem with aggregations due to lack of adequate insulation. The ladybugs come in through small cracks around windows, door ways and under clap boards. They want to hibernate in a warm, comfortable spot over the cold months of winter. Ladybugs gather in groups when they hibernate, so if you see one, you can be sure more will follow. The best way to keep them out is to repair damaged clap boards, window and door trim and to caulk small cracks.

Q. Once the ladybugs are in my house, will they eat anything?

A. No. Ladybugs don't eat fabric, plants, paper or any other household items. They like to eat APHIDS. Aphids are very small, but very destructive pest that feed on plants. (If you have rose bushes, you have probably seen aphids.) Ladybugs, while trying to hibernate in your house, live off of their own body fats. They also prefer a little humidity, but our homes are usually not very humid during the winter. In fact, they are rather dry causing most of your ladybug guests to die from dehydration. Occasionally, you might witness a ladybug in your bathroom getting a drink of water. Now, that's a smart lady!

Q. How can I get them out of my house?

A. If you don't have a lot, just leave them. They will leave when spring arrives. Disturbing them will only cause them to stress out leaving yellow markings on your walls. The yellow stuff is not waste matter, but rather, their blood. Ladybugs release a small amount of their blood which is yellow and smells, when they sense danger. Some people have said that it does stain on light colored surfaces.

Q. But, I really want the ladybugs out of my house!

A. Use a "shop vacuum". This type of vacuum is easy to use for collect ladybugs. When using this to vacuum up ladybugs, use a clean bag or pad the bottom with a cloth. After all is clean, release the unwelcome guests outside.

Q. Is there anything else I can use to get the ladybugs out of my house?

A. Yes. There is a product called a Ladybug Black Light Trap. It uses radiating black light to attract and contain the ladybugs.