Insect Zoo best kept secret at OSU

She thrives on their interest as she moves around a small, unpretentious cinder block building where she makes presentations using collections of insects rivaled only by a dozen or so others in the country, including the Smithsonian, she said.

Morrison, a doctoral student studying entomology at Oklahoma State University, oversees the OSU Insectary and traveling Insect Zoo maintained by the department.  She also is the entomology educational outreach coordinator and spends much of her time talking about the facility’s inhabitants.

The basement is home to an insect rearing area, while one of two greenhouses on the grounds contains special plants to feed live colonies.  Mulberry trees and pyracantha or “fire thorn” bushes also are grown on the grounds because of their usefulness as food to a number of other species.

Morrison has had a busy summer teaching Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and 4-H groups, as well as home schooled children and even several groups of grandchildren and grandparents, about insects.

Both children and adults come to the Insect Zoo to see the “bugs” and learn about their importance in the world around them.  They hear Morrison explain some of the ways insects help to make sure vegetables grow and also find out interesting facts about a variety of species.  Morrison stresses that all of the insects and spiders have jobs to do.

Youngsters crowd close each time she removes a live specimen to show them, and are enthralled by pinchers and iridescent bodies.  They are encouraged to touch Millie the millipede and even let the walking stick travel up their arm.  In another area of the room, they are asked to be very quiet and listen to the hissing Madagascar cockroach.

Morrison’s enthusiasm is apparent when she explains why educating children about entomology is so important.  Her father, Richard Morrison, a USDA cotton research entomologist, passed on his love of the insect world to her.

“Aside from the plants, they are the bottom of the food chain for the entire planet,” she says.

Knowledge of the subtlety of balance in the ecological system can be transferred to students who find the giant walking sticks or millipedes fascinating, and Morrison takes full advantage of that.

She talks passionately about efforts to educate the public about the benefits of insects and arachnoids. Morrison points out to every captive audience that the earth would go on without humans, but in a short time everything would end without the insect world.

“The planet would literally not exist in two years if you lose all the bugs.  Within two years all life cycles would cease,” Morrison said.

Morrison said more than 300 thousand people a year are reached through the efforts of the OSU facility and a traveling Insect Zoo that makes Bug Fest presentations at schools and fairs around the state.

OSU’s Insectary contains specimens from nearly 30 different countries obtained and kept by special USDA permits.  Though both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa Zoos have butterfly pavilions, Morrison said the facility in Stillwater houses the only extensive insect collection in area.

The Insect Zoo is available for classroom presentations in Payne County for a fee of $175 per day, and for presentations outside the county for $225.  Morrison said assisting with presentations allows graduate students in the entomology program to gain valuable skills that can also be added to their resumes.

Tours of the OSU Insectary are free and can be scheduled by contacting Morrison at 405- 744-7755.

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CUTLINE:

Edmond students, Cindy Stapleton, 13, and Mikki Tripoli, also 13, stand behind 8-year- old Mikki Tripoli, as Andriene Morrison shows her Rosie the tarantula at OSU’s Insectary.  (Photo by Janet F. Reeder)

MEDIA CONTACT:
Janet F. Reeder, BA, MS
Agricultural Communications Services
142 Agriculture North
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK  74078
405.744.3651
janet.reeder@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating:  The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.