WESTMINSTER —In a room filled with tiny enclosures housing hundreds of insects from around the world, Mary Ann Hamilton pulled open a cage, gently picked up a Macleay’s Spectre walkingstick and explained why it’s so charismatic.
As the the bizarre-looking, slow-moving bug crawled over her hand, the vice president of said the walkingstick is an excellent ambassador to the insect kingdom because it’s easy to handle and represents several things: diet, camouflage, mimicry, habitat conservation and defense mechanisms.
“This is one of the insects we put on display and take into classrooms quite often because we can teach so many different things,” Hamilton said.
Sitting on an 11-acre campus off U.S. 36 and 104th Avenue, the Butterfly Pavilion was the first stand-alone insect zoo in the country when it opened in 1995. and the vital role that insects play in maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
“Invertebrates make up 97 percent of all animal species on earth,” she added. “We’re very excited to be able to represent that and take visitors on a journey from land, to sea to the air.”
This ranges from the black-and- white dotted domino cockroaches to a horseshoe crab housed in a shallow pool of water that visitors are encouraged to touch.
At the end of the tour, spectacular butterflies freely flutter in the crown jewel of the building, a 7,200-square-foot tropical rainforest home to more than 1,600 butterflies and a resident tortoise.
Maintaining the health of these invertebrates is just as important as caring for the health needs of any mammal found in a traditional zoo. While far more is known about veterinary health of larger animals, caring for a sluggish African millipede or a tarantula refusing to eat is an entirely different matter.
“It is difficult to take care of these animals,” Hamilton said. “We have a spectacular team including an entomologist and lepidopterist, and we isolate insects if we suspect something may be wrong.”
The organization also does extensive research and reproduction efforts, including successful breeding of three female golden silk-orb weaving spiders.
“They’re a very difficult species to breed so it was exciting to learn about the growth rate and lifecycle of these arachnids,” said entomologist Amber Partridge.
After an arduous review process, the Butterfly Pavilion recently became the second insect zoo in the country to receive accreditation from the prestigious Association of American Zoos & Aquariums.
The accreditation means the organization uses best practices in animal feeding, husbandry, conservation and display and opens the door to trade species with other accredited institutions.
Mark Campbell, vice-president of Animal Health at the Cincinnati Zoo, reviewed the Butterfly Pavilion as part of the process.
“Invertebrates represent the largest biomass in the world and ,” Campbell said. “Most people don’t want to see bugs, they want to kill them. The Butterfly Pavilion has a really cool story to tell and gets people in the door for that message.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abriggs
Butterfly pavilion
Where: 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily
Cost: $9.50 adults (discounts for kids, seniors and residents)
Information: 303-469-5441,
