Small children, burly guys in rugby jerseys, backpackers and businessmen alike were mesmerised by these ... catch up wit
Spring 2016
Springing into action
Today’s Kallima paralekt-ure: Sensational Butterflies and Sensational Volunteers
by Mark Leadbetter (Sensational Volunteer 2015) Last summer I was lucky enough to spend my Thursdays volunteering in the Museum’s 2015 Sensational Butterflies exhibit, giving visitors my best impersonation of an expert, all the while committing as many Latin names as possible to memory in the hope I’d never be found out. (Morpho peleides, Kallima paralekta, Siproeta stelenes - I’m not just Googling them, they’re all up there.) My interest in volunteering arose from a recent trip to Singapore. My return flight departed from Changi Airport, and to my surprise they had a Butterfly house nestled in terminal three.
Small children, burly guys in rugby jerseys, backpackers and businessmen alike were mesmerised by these insects. Eyes aloft, mouths agape, the anxieties of international air travel were put aside. The couple whose wedding I was attending in Singapore mightn’t appreciate my saying so, but this is still a favourite memory of the trip. Now the weeks leading up to my Sensational Volunteer role would have been the perfect time to brush-up on all things lepidoptera, memorising the facts and stats about butterflies and moths that would dazzle our visitors. Instead I spent the time trying in vain to remember school German lessons. On the foreign languages section of my application form, I’d somewhat overstated my abilities. But it would take a full six weeks for my monolingualism to catch up with me, and reduce a little Spanish girl to tears. It was around the end of July and, despite the many signs requesting the contrary, I’d seen visitors try all manner of techniques to have a butterfly land in their hands: the sneaky application of fruit juice, the gentle coaxing, the outstretched arms of countless human statues. This little girl had a pale owl (Caligo memnon) cupped in her hands. Removing it, I explained - in what I assumed was our mutual tongue - that this butterfly had sensitive little feet and mustn’t be handled.
Later the girl’s mother approached me. She spoke some English, notably not enough to convey the numerous ‘please do not handle the butterflies’ signs to her daughter, but enough to give me an ear-bending. She told me that her daughter had not understood why I’d taken the butterfly away and was very upset. Usually this type of run-in would have rattled me. With a sister of a similar age I could see this was the type of heartbreak it would take a whole bag of Haribo to fix. But today I found myself uncharacteristically unfazed by the pair, and far more concerned with the insect’s welfare. At the time, I thought it was the weeks of watching the house’s one rule repeatedly flouted that had left me so impatient and firm. It wasn’t until two weeks later, when I spied an article in the Metro on the train ride in, that I was able to go some way to explaining my defection to Team Butterfly. The article was about the Japanese oakblue caterpillar (Arhopala japonica - that one I did have to Google), whose sweet secretions are a favourite snack for the ants of neighbouring colonies. It used to be thought that these secretions served simply to distract the ants from making a juicy meal of the caterpillar. But now scientists at Kobe University had found that the caterpillars’ ‘nectar’ may instead alter the ants’ brain chemistry, making them less active and explorative. As a result, they would stick close to the source of the secretions, ‘rushing on and around the caterpillars’ and ‘[driving] away the caterpillar’s enemies.’ And while there were no Japanese oakblues in Sensational Butterflies, I wondered if we volunteers and the species present had formed a similarly mutualistic bond. I’d felt first-hand - initially in Singapore, and then repeatedly over my time at the Museum - the mellowing effect of butterflies. How their whimsical flight couldn’t fail to lift your mood. I’ve still yet to speak to a volunteer who hasn’t loved their time in the house. Perhaps this emotional pay-off is the human equivalent of the ants’ sugary treat?
The very worst a butterfly could do to someone is flit carelessly into their face while they’re minding their own business. Is it any wonder they inspire our loyalty and protection? Even the staff member who greeted me on first entering Hintze Hall, with a ‘Welcome to the Natural History Museum, please consider a donation’ so melodic I couldn’t help but smile, seemed to be under the butterflies’ spell.
Sensational Butterflies in numbers: • 400 butterflies and moths at any one time • 40 species of tropical butterfly or moth • 45+ team of Sensational Volunteers • six-month exhibition run • three Butterfly House Managers • open every day from 24 March-11 September 2016
Sensational Volunteering at a glance: Sensational Butterflies is a volunteer-led exhibition that involves a team of around 45 dedicated volunteers from April to September. It is a long exhibition run that involves volunteering in some hot and humid conditions, so we need to make sure it is a meaningful and worthwhile experience for the volunteers giving their time freely and generously. Sensational Volunteers help to look after the exhibition guests and visitors - whether human, butterfly, moth or plant. This
involves ensuring the space serves as a beautiful environment for our insect guests and for engaging our visitors. The team add incredible value to the exhibition by helping to make every visitor’s experience sensational. There may be up to five Sensational Volunteers in the house each day, as well as a Butterfly House Manager and two members of the Visitor Experience Team. Sensational Butterflies 2016 opens on 24 March on the east lawns of the Museum.
Vox pop Anna Platoni (Butterfly Team volunteer alumni) A pathway to success What is your current job? I am an entomologist, part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) science team based at Wisley Garden. I answer questions from RHS members about garden pests and wildlife, help with public science events, write for RHS publications and undertake my own scientific research. Was it always your ambition to be an entomologist? Did volunteering help your passion or cement it? I always loved biology and creepy crawlies in particular, but it was volunteering in the Butterfly Jungle and insect collections at the Museum that made me certain it was the only career for me. It inspired me to continue studying to achieve a master’s degree in entomology. Working as an entomologist at the RHS really is a dream come true. When did you volunteer at the Museum, and what did you do? I began volunteering at the Museum in 2009 as a Butterfly Jungle volunteer while studying at Imperial College. This involved amazing visitors with butterfly facts as well as helping to care for the butterflies, moths and environment. I learnt tonnes about butterflies from Luke Brown, who runs the house. By the end of my first summer in the butterfly house, I was so hooked that I didn’t want to spend the winter butterfly-less, so I jumped at the chance when an opportunity came up to volunteer in the butterfly collections. I helped Dr Blanca Huertas with her project curating the Lepidoptera accession collections, sorting butterflies into family groups. What was most exciting for you about joining the volunteer programme at the Museum? I love to learn, and I can safely say that I learnt something new every day while volunteering. The opportunity to pass this new knowledge on was also really exciting for me, and I really caught the science-communication bug. Besides this, I built a network of people both in and out of science, many of whom remain my friends and mentors to this day.
Anna Platoni lures a Pale Owl. (Photography credit: RHS /Luke MacGregor)
Who is your inspiration? Blanca at the Museum is a real inspiration to me. She is an amazing scientist, and her research is so exciting - especially discovering new species, both within the collections and out in the field. She still finds time to be a brilliant mentor to her team of volunteers and ex-volunteers and is always ready to dispense great advice and careful support. What would be your one recommendation for budding entomologists? Talk to everyone and ask loads of questions. Entomologists, ecologists and plant scientists are all normally super enthusiastic and keen to share their work. Has your volunteer experience inspired you to work closely with volunteers? Yes. I have two volunteers that work with me at the RHS at Garden Wisley during the spring and summer to count butterflies. The project is quite new, but the data they collect will help us manage the garden better for butterflies, as well as being submitted to the UK Butterfly Monitoring Survey to help build a bigger environmental picture.
Dates for your diary You are invited to the Museum’s Big Welcome induction. Please book yourself a place if you have not attended already. You can do this by contacting Sophie Binder in Organisational Development at
[email protected] This induction is an opportunity for new Museum staff and volunteers to meet and network with colleagues from other departments, gaining insight into aspects of the organisation. This one-day experience involves a series of informative presentations and interactive tours, including a welcome from the Director. Lunch and refreshments are provided throughout the day.
Award nominations Nomination forms for the Kensington and Chelsea Volunteer Awards and the London Volunteers in Museums Awards will be sent out to volunteer managers during National Volunteers’ week in June. Will you be nominated? Who will you nominate?
LONDON VOLUNTEERS IN MUSEUMS AWARDS 2015
Dates available: • • • •
6 April 4 May 1 June 6 July
• 7 September • 5 October • 2 November
National Volunteers’ Week: Monday 1 - Sunday 7 June The UK’s annual celebration of volunteers and volunteering, National Volunteers Week plays a huge part in raising the profile of the millions of volunteers who regularly contribute to society, and inspiring others to get involved.
LVMA winners and judges at the 2015 awards
Watch this space: Here at the Museum, we will be celebrating your brilliance as volunteers and volunteer managers with a party during National Volunteers’ Week. All current volunteers and volunteer managers will be invited. Full information will follow as available.
Publications The new issues of evolve, WILD WORLD and Waterhouse Times are out now. Copies can be found outside the staff restaurant. Please help yourself.
Contact
For more information on anything in this newsletter, please contact Ali Thomas, Volunteers Project Manager at
[email protected] or on 020 7942 6048.
Our thanks to all who contributed to this e-newsletter, especially Mark Leadbetter, Anna Platoni, the Butterfly House Volunteers (2008-2015) and their managers Luke Brown, Kerry Calloway and Pablo Scott.
