Last
month, the Houston
Museum of Natural
Science reopened its
redesigned and expanded
Cockrell Butterfly
Center with a surprising
twist: It asked the
public to bring in
cockroaches to populate
its beefed-up insect
exhibits. Houston
Chronicle science writer
Eric Berger caught up
with the museum's
curator of entomology,
Nancy Greig, to see how
the promotion went and
to find out why someone
would want to spend
their career working
with bugs.
Q:
First question: How many
cockroaches did you
collect when you were
offering a quarter per
bug?
A:
We collected, I believe,
724.
Q:
And you were originally
shooting for 1,000?
A:
Yes, it was a big
disappointment for some.
So many people were
afraid we'd get too
many, but I didn't think
we'd get too many.
They're not that easy to
catch.
Q:
So were you happy with
the haul you got?
A:
Oh, yes, we got plenty.
It was pretty crowded in
the exhibit.
Q:
And tell me again, why
in the world would
someone ask the public
to bring in cockroaches?
A:
The purpose is that we
really want to raise
awareness that
cockroaches do have a
role as scavengers, and
even the ones in your
house are not
particularly dirty. The
ones we collected,
American cockroaches,
would just as soon be
outdoors. We wanted to
tell people, 'Hey,
cockroaches are people,
too.' They're neat. Only
12 out of 4,000 are
pests. They're sanitary
engineers.
Q:
How do cockroaches keep
things clean?
A:
They eat decaying
vegetation, decaying
stuff, mostly. And if we
didn't have them — and
the termites and dung
beetles and decomposers
— the world would be
piled high in trash.
They're very important
recyclers.
Q:
Do you have to feed the
cockroaches?
A:
Ours are very well-fed.
We don't make them
scavenge. We give them
chocolate cake mix and
dog food and fresh
oranges and water, of
course. It's a pretty
good life.
Q:
A lot of people hate
bugs.
A:
I know.
Q:
They say, 'The only good
insect is a dead
insect.' What do you say
to that?
A:
I say they're wrong.
They need to come here
and find out how neat
and super-important bugs
are. The world could
live without us, but the
world could not function
without insects.
Q:
OK, but what about
mosquitoes? I can't
imagine they have any
redeeming qualities.
A:
Well, you know, I don't
like mosquitoes any
better than anyone else.
But they provide food
— especially (in)
their aquatic stage,
they provide food for a
lot of animals. And some
things eat their adult
stage. Unfortunately,
the females do need
blood to develop their
eggs. The males don't
drink blood, and not all
mosquitoes spread
disease. But, yes, we
sort of featured the
mosquito as the 'most
wanted' insect because
they've killed so many
people over time by
transmitting disease.
They're definitely the
most dangerous insect.
Q:
What type of person
likes working with these
critters?
A:
I've always liked bugs
since I was a kid. What
I think is really sad
is, if a kid has parents
who say, 'No, no. don't
touch that,' or a mother
screams or whatever.
That's just bound to
turn a kid off. But when
the parents are at least
tolerant, then it works.
Q:
For readers who
might become stranded in
a tropical jungle and
have to eat bugs to
survive, which species
would you recommend?
A:
Oh, gosh. Well, I
haven't eaten by any
means all of them. But I
have eaten a really
delicious beetle grub
that eats palm fruits
(from the inside). So
you take your machete
and whack the palm fruit
in half, and you'll find
these big white beetle
grubs, and they taste
just like creamed corn.
Q:
You're kidding.
A:
No, they're quite good.
We do have an
"Insects as
Food" section, and
we have a vending
machine in which you can
sample several examples
of insects. So come and
try us out.
