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Bugging out: NOLA’s AudubonButterfly Garden andInsectarium captivates visitors

Posted: Saturday, June 7, 2014 9:01 pm | Updated: 12:44 am,Sun Jul 6, 2014.

Mary Eloise H. Leake

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Know how a certain unforgettable smell, object or tastecan transport you immediately back to another time andplace? The New Orleans’ Audubon Butterfly Garden andInsectarium is jam-packed with all three memory-makers.

Walk down a brightly muraled hall crawling with 3-Dbugs of all sorts and visit the exhibit that reveals howinsects use chemistry for defense. Put your nose over thewhirligig beetle box and smell sour apple candy. Sniff thevinegaroon and get a snootful of pungent vinegar.

These funky, fun things are in the Success StoriesGallery (one of 13), which includes biting and stingingcritters, too. Girls love the pink-toed diva-like tarantulasthere, and the pink katydids across the hall. While theABGI’s famous eeew factor is intact, this place awakensthe inner child in everyone. Even teens forget to rolltheir eyes as they whip out their camera phones to showtheir buds the Madagascar hissing roach climbing overthe docent’s hand.

According to ABGI’s Pied Piper, Zach Lemann, managerof the Animal and Visitor Programs, three presentationstations provide up-close-and-personal encounters withcaterpillars, beetles, millipedes and roaches. Your firstreaction? Yuck. But Lemann and his crew aremesmerizing, drawing you into the moment like thespider luring the fly — but in a good way.

The “Award’s Night” 4-D movie, with animation and adollop of live action, is a certifiable hoot. Prancing,flying and hopping down the red carpet, the celebritiesvying for the Bug Oscars — voiced by Jay Leno, JoanRivers and Brad Garrett — can be girly like KeikoCaterpillar or easily agitated like Wanda Wasp. Butwhen the big don (think “The Godfather”) Coleopterabeetle stomps in, the seats shake, plus during the otherpresentations you’re zapped with appropriate spray,wind and odors.

Before entering the serene indoor Asian ButterflyGarden, stop at the Metamorphosis Gallery to learnmore about the four stages of butterfly life. If you’relucky, you’ll see an emerging butterfly open its wings forthe first time.

ABGI burst its own chrysalis in 2008 and is now flyinghigh in the French Quarter’s original U.S. CustomsHouse. Since then the Butterfly Garden Gallery has beenratcheted up with a koi pond, a pagoda-like display withrainbow-hued Gouldian finches, and neat red-footedtortoises. Hundreds of jazzy butterflies flit around in akaleidoscope of colors echoing the city’s Mardi Grasparades.

Most folks come to N’awlins for its fabulous food. Youcan devour all the standard fare — po’boys, jambalaya,gumbo and red beans and rice — or you can up the anteand chow down at the Insectarium’s Bug Appetit.Smacking your lips is easy when you are gobbling upWheat Thins topped with spicy mango chutney(mangos, apples and waxworms). Six-legged salsa (salsaand mealworms) lends a tantalizing bite to tortilla chips.And just pop the crispy Cajun crickets (dusted withcinnamon and sugar) into your mouth and crunch down.Sweet!

Lemann’s got the necessary creds — he once cookedcreepy crawlies on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.” Pick upthe recipe pamphlet. Just think of the money you’ll save

on groceries by catching your own food.

Think eating bugs is not your thing? According to “The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook” by David George Gordon, “The FDAallows an average of 60 or more insect fragments in every 100 grams of chocolate and 30 or more insect fragments

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If You Go...The New Orleans Audubon Butterfly Garden andInsectarium is open seven days a week from 10a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets for adults are $16.50, childrenages 2-12 are $12 and seniors 65 and older are $13.The city streetcars stop at all three AudubonInstitute properties — the Butterfly Garden andInsectarium, Aquarium and Zoo — and packagedeals are available. For more information, visitauduboninstitute.org/visit/insectarium.

Submitted photo

New Orleans InsectariumA walking leaf insect is seen at the New Orleans AudubonButterfly Garden and Insectarium.

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per 100 grams of peanut butter.”

Plus, if you think about it, honey is basically bee vomit … While the Insectarium has won no James Beard Awardfor its delicacies, it’s surely on the short list.

Speaking of bugs ...

Nashville’s Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art has gone quite buggy, as well. From now throughAug. 31, “David Rogers’ Big Bugs” are roaming the 55-acre grounds.

This most unusual art installation spotlights 10 humongous insect sculptures made from natural materials likefound or cut trees, sticks, twine and bark. Two special interactive sculptures fashioned by two of the city’s architectfirms allow kids and adults alike to explore a beehive and experience the life of a butterfly.

Visit cheekwood.org for more information.

Posted in Life, Travel on Saturday, June 7, 2014 9:01 pm. Updated: 12:44 am.

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