The Live Exhibits team have moved their Blog! We can now be found in the Museum Victoria blog site: http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/ as part of the entire Museum Victoria community blog. So now instead of just finding out what we are doing in our department you can find out what is happening across the entire Museum. BUT - if you do want to just keep in touch with Live Exhibits, on the right hand side of the blog you can select Live Exhibits entries.

Click across now and have a look...

Although it may say Jessie is the author, today Tim Blackburn is writing the story, another keeper at Melbourne Museum's Live Exhibits Department.

Every year as spring sets in, the department finds itself nurturing hatchlings of various species through the early and especially fragile stages of their lives. A notable influx of Giant Green Mantids, Hierodula majuscula, has just occurred, with hundreds of nymphs now devouring the Live Exhibits “mantid nymph” diet of fruit flies and pinhead crickets. Praying mantids are voracious predators that generally feed on invertebrates smaller than themselves.

The Giant Green Mantis can be found along coastal areas and in rainforests of far north Queensland. It is one of the largest mantis species found in Australia, with females being so obstructively robust that, despite having wings, they are unable to fly.

The robust body form of the female giant rainforest mantid prevents it from flying. Photo: Tim Blackburn. Source: Museum Victoria.

The Giant Green Mantis has a number of peculiarities, common to all mantids, which serve to spark the fascination of many observers. Its triangular head which bears two large compound eyes in its upper corners somewhat uncannily resembles that of the culturally accepted depiction of an alien. Furthermore, many readers would be able to relate their experience of being convinced that a praying mantis has watched them for an extended period of eye contact. These critters possess in each eye what scientists call a “pseudo-pupil”, which is in fact not a pupil but an artefact of the convergence of numerous ommatidia (tiny eyes) in their compound eyes. This structure has the effect of facilitating the illusion that the mantis is looking directly at an observer, irrespective of sudden changes in position. The pseudo-pupil may serve as a deterrent to predators, which are given the impression that they are being watched.

The triangular head of the giant rainforest mantid contributes to its alien-like appearance. Note also the pseudo-pupils in each compound eye. Photo: Tim Blackburn. Source: Museum Victoria.

The pseudo-pupil of the left eye of the giant rainforest mantid is visible in this photograph which illustrates the illusion of the mantid ‘keeping watch’ on an observer. Photo: Tim Blackburn. Source: Museum Victoria.

Despite being formidable predators, praying mantids would serve as a nutritious meal for predators larger than themselves, such as some birds and reptiles, and have therefore adopted strategies to minimise the risk. Mantids are able to camouflage in their habitat by resembling the colouration and sometimes the texture of their host plant or surface. Mantids are also able to move in a breeze as though they are rustling leaves. Strategies such as camouflage and being responsive to air movements may also assist mantids in reducing the chances of their prey detecting them and thereby escaping.

The Giant Green Mantis nymphs that have recently begun their lives in Live Exhibits will soon have their sexes identified (will be “sexed”) so that they can potentially be organised, on maturation, into appropriate breeding pairs. Males of any mantis species have what appears to be an extra abdominal segment than do females of that species, so sexing is easily accomplished. Male Giant Green Manitids have what appears eight abdominal segments while females have only seven. Like all mantis species, the sexually immature individuals appear identical to their parents in every respect other than their smaller size and wingless bodies. They shed their exoskeletons periodically as they grow, and it is not until their final moult that they adopt their winged, fully grown form.

Alan and Deanna Henderson have left the nest of Live Exhibits to head to where the weather is hot and the rain is plentiful. They have left an amazing legacy at the Museum and will be greatly missed by not only the Live Exhibits crew but by staff across the entire venue. They were pivotal players in the production of the ever popular Bugs Alive! exhibition and the book Bugs Alive: a guide to keeping Australian invertebrates. Every live display up until this point in time at the Melbourne Museum has had the Henderson ‘touch’. With Luke now managing exhibitions across the entire Museum Victoria campus (End of an era – Luke Bowers out!) and the Henderson's in Queensland our department is a little quieter.

Alan and Deanna collecting spiders in remote areas of Victoria for Bugs Alive! Source: Museum Victoria

We have now survived the first month of not having Alan as our chief. So far so good. We have all been pondering … ‘what would Alan do in this situation’ every time we are faced with an issue we would have once turned to him for. From ‘what would Alan do with a single female Leaf Winged Katydid’ that was sent down from the tropics last week – we have set it up in a pent house suite in our humid room with every conceivable laying medium to get her to deposit eggs and hoping it works.

Tim checking out our new Leaf Winged Katydid before setting her up in her new home. Photo: Jessie Sinclair. Source: Museum Victoria.

We have still been managing to have great success with invertebrates in the collection. Our parthenogenetic Palm Katydids are going very well living on southern species of palm fronds. They are growing at an amazing rate. We have had enough success with them to be able to send them out to other invertebrate keepers keen to give this large species of katydid a go. Our Giant Katydids are hatching from eggs laid earlier in the year – they are our second generation of captive bred stock that originated from Far North Queensland. We are now trying them on a variety of vegetable garden plants to get them on a readily available ‘southern’ food plant in addition to apple leaves that we found are great as summer fodder.

A subadult Palm Katydid being reared on local Melbourne palm fronds. Photo: Jessie Sinclair. Source: Museum Victoria.

A Giant Katydid nymph resting on a leaf. This is our 2nd generation of captive bred specimens. Photo: Claire Steel. Source: Museum Victoria.

Deanna and Alan have already started sending us packages of insects from their own backyard in Queensland. Today we received a new colony of Green Tree Ants that were quickly transferred to display in Bugs Alive! They will quickly settle into this new island home where they can silk the leaves together to make a new nest that will enthuse the audiences in the Museum. They live in an enclosure with a moat running around it as they are great escape artists and having the water running around the island is the only way to keep them in! Who knows what other animals Alan and Deanna may find living in there tropical paradise of a backyard. If you are keen to have a look visit their Blog at http://minibeastwildlife.blogspot.com/

Green Tree Ants take a bit of escape proofing to keep them in their new homes. Their larvae release silk to help bind leaves together to create a new nest. Photo: Alan Henderson. Source: Museum Victoria.

Our 3 Australian Lungfish are certainly settling into their new home. They arrived at Melbourne Museum at the end of May where they lived in our back of house facility for the first few weeks while we kept a close eye on them and learnt their likes and dislikes. They quickly settled into their new surroundings and were literally ‘feeding from the hand’ by the second week. Being transferred to display for the opening of 600 million years in the first week of July was probably more traumatic for the keepers than the fish – a new fish tank no matter how well you prepare it can always have problems. We have been testing an array of water conditions daily to ensure any fluctuations are kept to a minimum. The 3 Lungfish have been behaving like true stars on display; they spend much of the day relaxed at the bottom of the tank and come to the surface for short periods to gulp some air into their lungs. Next time you are at the Museum make sure you find your way to this new and fascinating exhibition in the Science and Life gallery.

One of our Australian Lungfish on display in the new 600 million years exhibition. Photo: Benjamin Healley Source: Museum Victoria

Feeding time; these Australian Lungfish get fed a range of pellets, earthworms and other treats. Photo: Benjamin Healley Source: Museum Victoria

The Australian Lungfish enclosure is part of the story of life leaving the water and moving onto land. Photo: Benjamin Healley Source: Museum Victoria

Over the last year Andrew has been part of a group of Museum staff busy getting a bike fleet for Museum Victoria. He has been doing this in between looking after the Forest Gallery, Milarri Gardens and all the other areas around the museum where we have exhibition gardens. Today – he got to pick up the first five bikes. These bikes will be housed across our 4 campuses of Museum Victoria: Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum and Moreland. We are lucky enough to have one of these bikes being hosted by our department, giving us naming rights. This bike has been called The Silver Perch – named after the fish in Milarri Ponds that are so speedy and agile – we are hoping the bike will be the same! So if you see The Silver Perch travelling the streets of Melbourne you will know where it has come from. We are hoping these bikes will help reduce the need to use cars and taxis to conduct short trips either between campuses or to do the quick run to the hardware store.

Andrew giving our bike its first test run on the Museum Plaza. These bikes will reduce our need to use cars and taxis travelling around Melbourne. Photo: Nicole Alley. Source: Museum Victoria.

Our male Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) are fascinated about all things blue. They spend their days flying around the gallery collecting pen lids, ribbons and other discarded pieces of blue rubbish. They use them to decorate their bower. These bowers are used to attract females to mate. It takes 7 years for a male Satin Bowerbird to mature, before that he has green and yellow feathers just like females. These young males are also fascinated with blue objects. This young male in the photo found a discarded hair tie that may have proved fatal for him. He had a very uncomfortable afternoon trying to get it off himself after it became caught around his neck. Being in captivity he was a little better off as we were able to catch him up and removed it quickly. If this had of happened in the wild he may have become tangled in a tree with the band and died. We try to keep an eye on what the birds are finding in the Forest Gallery, it is easy to check as most of the objects turn up in the bower. Anything like this hair tie or other objects that could be dangerous are promptly removed, other ‘treasures’ are left or spread around the gallery for the birds to re-gather.

Wearing a necklace is not what this Satin Bowerbird was planning for this hair tie. Photo: Alan Henderson. Source: Museum Victoria.

Overnight this Sydney Funnelweb was busy growing. Yesterday she was noticed unable to extend her chelicerae fully (where her fangs are) and her ‘colour’ was a little off. Reading this record I thought maybe she was reaching the end of her life but really she was just preparing to moult her exoskeleton.

To shed the old exoskeleton she had to burst out from inside. A new exoskeleton had been created under the old one but it was still soft and folded. She cracked open the top of the cephalothorax (her first body segment) then almost rolled out of her old exoskeleton. When she first came out she was white and extremely soft. The exoskeleton slowly hardens – this photo shows her when she is still vulnerable to predator attack as she cannot fight back with her soft fangs. This period is her main growing time as she ‘pumps’ out her new soft exoskeleton so that once it hardens it will be bigger than the one previous.

Over the next couple of days we will leave her quietly to strengthen her new exoskeleton. Some spiders, like funnelwebs are called primitive spiders and the females will continue to moult their exoskeletons this way even when they are mature. Other spiders like Huntsman will stop growing this way once they mature.

To get bigger, this Sydney Funnelweb has to discard her old exoskeleton. Photo: Alan Henderson. Source: Museum Victoria

Melbourne Museum's Murray Darling Carpet Python, Murray, has returned to the Discovery Centre. He spent winter 2008 in the Discovery Centre to the delight of staff and visitors. His return this winter should be just as good. Weighing in at 3 kg he generally spends his time behind the scenes and only comes out for visitor programs. Having Murray in the Discovery Centre means that visitors can come and see him whenever – as long as the Discovery Centre is open.

Murray has returned to the Discovery Centre. Photo: Alan Henderson. Source: Museum Victoria.

Exactly 80 days after our female Knob Tailed Gecko laid an egg in her sand box we had a baby hatch from the egg. The egg was transferred to a vermiculite tub (to maintain steady moisture levels) and has been sitting in our incubator for all this time being maintained at 28 C. Unlike bird eggs where the birds tend and look after their eggs, these eggs get buried in the sand by the female and left to incubate without being moved. There is a small air pocket that is trapped in the top of the egg that the developing gecko needs to survive – if this egg is turned during its incubation period the developing gecko may suffocate.

Early on Sunday morning we found that the baby had managed to get its head out of the egg and over the course of the morning it wriggled out and was ready to live independently. It was weighed (3.9 grams) and set up in a small terrarium. We will look after it here at the Museum until we are sure it is feeding well. It will then be transferred to another museum, zoo or wildlife park where it will be on display.

The youngest member of our gecko family hatching from its egg. Photo: Claire Steel Source: Museum Victoria

Back in November of 2009 we had a mass of eggs released by Pobblebonk Frogs (Limnodynastes dumerili) in the Forest Gallery. Since then, the eggs were taken to our Lab where they successfully hatched a few days later. These tadpoles have been living in a tank behind the scenes feeding on frozen lettuce and algae pellets. This week we had our first tadpole with all 4 legs developed. This meant that the tadpole was ready to head out onto land and start life as a frog. These small frogs, otherwise known as metamorphs have already taken a liking to burrowing underground during the day. They will remain behind the scenes to grow up a little before joining their parents and the rest of the Pobblebonk population in the Forest Gallery.

This Pobblebonk Frog has recently developed its front legs and is ready to head onto land. Photo: Jessie Sinclair Source: Museum Victoria.