Mark your calendars: Saturday, April 23. The doors of the Museum of Biological Diversity will be open from 10AM to 4PM. We will also have several outdoor activities.
With a little more than 30 days to go until the big day, we’re now in the thick of the preparations for our Annual Museum Open House. The theme for the 2016 event is “Living Colors.” The collections are selecting specimens and preparing displays and activities that will illustrate the theme. We are planning a number of hands-on activities for biodiversity lovers of all ages.
Here are just a few examples of the use of color in Nature that will be showcased during the Open House.
These two jumping spiders show the extreme sexual dimorphism and the use of color for sexual advertisement.
Habronattus americanus, male (left) and female (right). From “Common Spiders of North America”, by Richard Bradley, with illustrations by Steve Buchanan. Used with permission.
Male (left) and female (right) Karner Blue (Plebejus melissa samuelis) illustrate sexual dimorphism in this rare butterfly subspecies.
The darter family, Percidae, is found only in North America, with the largest concentration of species in the Mississippi River watershed. One example of their vivid colors is shown here: Etheostoma bellum, the Orangefin Darter. Photo from the OSU Fish Division.
More information for the public about the upcoming event will be available soon at the MBD website.
About the Author: Dr. Luciana Musetti is an Entomologist. Curator of the Triplehorn Insect Collection & one of the organizers of the 2016 Museum Open House.
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