A bug’s life
Bugs are a lot cleverer than we thought.
T here is a lot to learn about the genius of bugs – the intricate creatures who have evolved on earth for hundreds of millions of years. Often overlooked and easily dismissed, humans are only just beginning to discover their secrets, and now thanks to Te Papa Museum’s new extraordinary exhibition, Bug Lab, exploring the world of bugs has never been more exciting.
Following the success of the exhibition Gallipoli: The scale of our war, Te Papa’s Head of Design Ben Barraud has again joined forces with Sir Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop for the unprecedented, visually immersive science exhibition. Both the works of art and the stories behind them are beyond the imagination, says Dr Simon Pollard, spider scientist from the University of Canterbury, who worked with Te Papa entomologist Dr Phil Sirvid and New Zealand’s own ‘bug man’ Ruud Kleinpaste to curate the science and stories in Bug Lab.
With Hollywood-standard special effects Weta Workshop is known for creating, Bug Lab takes visitors on a captivating 4D journey into the habitats of four main case studies: the Orchid Mantis, the Jewel Wasp, the Japanese Hornet and Honeybees and the Dragonfly. Each depiction of fight, flight, predation (and the ways in which they lure and deceive prey) and survival is presented as larger than life, in a “graphic novel” says Pollard, showing the detail and level of incredible science behind how each bug survives and thrives.
Besides the exhibition’s incredible visual experience, extensive new research and information about these bugs and many others is displayed, explaining the important role bugs play in the development of leads in medical research and beyond. Says Sir Richard Taylor, “For 450 million years bugs have been getting smarter. From brain surgery to teamwork to the power of flight – they really can do it all. Now they’re sharing their genius to help humans make the world a better place.”
All of the bug stories seen in Bug Lab have come about through the advances of technology, adds Pollard, with scientists now able to study the brains and venoms of bugs as part of wider research on human cognitive abilities and cell functionality.
“What’s remarkable is that in the last decade or so we’ve started to look at bug brains. You’d think it was silly to say there are things inside the fruit fly brain that are similar to the human brain... All it is, is our version of that is bigger, and has more nerve cells. Theirs are smaller but they do the same function. The way we think about the cognitive abilities of bugs has changed dramatically in the last 20 to 30 years and we’ve realised they’re a lot cleverer than we thought. We tended to have this idea that they were hardwired automatons that didn’t have much flexibility in their behaviour and we now know it’s not true,” says Pollard.
Pollard is confident the exhibition will change audience’s perceptions of bugs for the better – educating the vital role bugs play in wider society – from pollination to even indicating water purity.
“If the bugs disappeared tomorrow, we’d be in deep doo-doo very quickly… the things they do are very important in allowing us to live the way we do.”