An Array of Other Life-forms
According to the sign that greets you as you go into the entrance of this museum, insects are the “major animals of the world”. I assume this refers to their vast population, but it may perhaps also be a statement recognizing their faculty to live on millennia of differing climates and outlive every other animal from the dinosaurs to the all-destructive creature living being. I couldn’t help but wonder how easily insects would dominate the world if they were the same dimension as people (I’m sure someone in Hollywood has already thought of this, too).
“Various bugs spread disease, eat farmers’ crops, and infect livestock. On the other hand, others recycle waste, supply us with food, offer food to other animals, and control weeds”
In any basis, dismissing these weird notions from my mind, I entered Siam Insect Zoo at Chiang Mai Thailand, which was founded in 2006 by entomologist Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, author of several specialist works such as “Butterflies of Thailand” and “Beetles of Thailand”.
Located on the Mae Rim – Samoeng Road of Chiang Mai Thailand, this zoo is the culmination of over thirty years of bug collecting, and it homes a laboratory where the learning and breeding of bugs takes place. Khun Pisuth is ably assisted by his son, Suttha, and wife Khulyanich. You could say the Ek-Amnuay family are your ordinary insect-loving family and together they have managed to show an exhibition that was recognised by the Nationwide Discovery Museum Institute as on “Excellent Discovery Museum Know-how Model, North of Thailand” in 2011.
Siam Insect Zoo facial appearance 2 major zones-the museum and the zoo. The indoor display homes a large number of preserved insects and offers the visitor attractive guide on the phylogeny of insects, their diversity, and their astounding ability to metamorphosis. Some outstanding shows are of the butterfly world that features a rare specimen of a hermaphrodite butterfly (half-male and half-female), and several giant or extinct kinds.
It was a lovely surprise to me that our museum information was Suttha Ek-Amnuay, a very well-informed and friendly chap, and that the exhibition had special effects and graphics.
The out-of-doors zone has live critters, buzzing and crawling about all over the place. You can get up close and special with well-known insects and arachnids like the walking-stick insect, the praying mantis, millipedes, centipedes, beetles, giant scorpions and spiders. The tour gives educational activities so it is always a favorite with local schoolchildren. It takes in trainees and students of entomology from universities too.
“Some insects spread disease, eat farmers’ crops, and infect livestock. On the other hand, others recycle waste, provide us with food, provide food to other pets, and control weeds,” said Suttha. “We can say that they are the main driving force behind ecology. I hope that seeing these creatures and appreciating their role in natural world will teach kids that there’s more to life than video games and computers.”
I left Siam Insect Zoo a wiser person, and much less afraid to recommend a hand of friendship to these wonderful little creatures.
For researchers such as “Uncle” Manop and Dr. Rampa Rat- tanarithikul, insects are a way of life. The two entomologists have spent half their working lives running on malaria and its carrier, the mosquito, and Dr. Rampa received the John N. Belkin Memorial Award in 2011 from the American Mosquito Control Association for her work on the subject.
Their like and appreciation for these tiny creatures prompted the couple to open the Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders, located on Sirimangklajarn Road in Chiang Mai Thailand. The small four-storey museum is now 10 years old and features hundreds of preserved species of bugs, both domestic and imported. All exhibits are accompanied by some interesting scientific information, making the museum an excellent day-trip choice for schools.
As you enter on the first floor you are met by giant wasps’ nests hanging down from tree branches around the ceiling. There is also a room exhibiting all the different species of mosquitoes in Thailand and details of the pathogens they carry which can be dangerous to human beings.
On the second floor, we find thousands of framed butterflies and beetles. A personal display of minerals and stones that the couple has collected over the years is also showcased, the highlight being a fossil which is 145 million years old.
The museum is a testament to Uncle Manop and Dr. Rampa’s 40 years of dedication. Though you may not know much about insects before you go in, you will undoubtedly learn much on your visit.
Creatures such as butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers arid mosquitoes have small life spans but play a major role in the ecosystem and in building the stability of natural world. They also add much shade and attractiveness to the environment.
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