{"id":16453,"date":"2024-10-10T10:28:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T14:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/biology\/?p=16453"},"modified":"2024-10-10T10:36:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T14:36:42","slug":"carleton-butterfly-show-celebrates-a-quarter-century-of-natural-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/biology\/2024\/carleton-butterfly-show-celebrates-a-quarter-century-of-natural-wonder\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Butterfly Show Celebrates a Quarter Century of Natural Wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

The butterfly effect is a phenomenon whereby a small action has a profound impact on a large, complex system. Such as that fateful day back in 1998 when Carleton University greenhouse manager\u00a0Ed Bruggink<\/a>\u00a0and his wife Joanna decided to go see an exhibit featuring flying butterflies in Montreal.<\/p>\n

As they watched a couple hundred of the colourful insects flutter around the greenhouse, Bruggink realized that Carleton had the expertise and facilities to host a similar event. In spring 1999, with help from Carleton entomology researcher\u00a0Jayne Yack<\/a>, he pulled together the university\u2019s first\u00a0Biology Butterfly Show<\/a>\u00a0in one of the Nesbitt Building\u2019s greenhouses, an exercise in organized chaos that has continued to evolve and expand.<\/p>\n

\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Carleton University greenhouse manager Ed Bruggink<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This fall, as the annual tradition celebrates its 25th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday, Bruggink is reflecting on the thousands of students, volunteers, faculty, staff and community members who have been drawn to these delicate creatures over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a huge team effort,\u201d he says about all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into hosting the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp to 1,200 or 1,300 people attend each day. They come because it\u2019s free, fun and educational, and because they get to have an intimate experience with a beautiful insect.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bruggink has seen young children get taller as they attend the show every year and then come back as Carleton students. He\u2019s seen university grads return as volunteers. And he\u2019s seen so many people step up and offer support, like his late friend\u00a0Jim des Rivi\u00e8res<\/a>, a Carleton professor whose striking large-scale butterfly and moth images adorn the walls of Nesbitt, and local naturalist\u00a0Rick Cavasin<\/a>, whose photos form a mesmerizing display in the building\u2019s lobby, helping keep the show in mind year-round.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur butterflies,\u201d says Bruggink, \u201chave brought so much positive attention to Carleton,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Large<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Carleton Butterfly Show: An Impressive Showcase<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A few weeks before the show begins, Bruggink orders about 1,300 pupae from suppliers as far flung as Costa Rica and Colorado. They\u2019re shipped overnight and it takes a few hours to painstakingly pin them to dowel rods inside incubator-like cases in the Nesbitt Building nursery.<\/p>\n

Two to three days later, the butterflies emerge and are brought to the greenhouse, where they\u2019re released \u2014\u00a0\u201cthe fun part,\u201d according to Bruggink \u2014 and feed on nectar-rich plants that he has primed with extra fertilizer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my showcase,\u201d he says, \u201cso I\u2019m trying to impress.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Entry to the show is free, although donations are requested to help cover the roughly $6,000 annual cost of buying pupae. And the\u00a0Ottawa chapter<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Let\u2019s Talk Science<\/a>, a national charity that supports STEM engagement, coordinates the school groups that visit and manages the volunteers without whom the show would not be possible.<\/p>\n

\"Butterfly<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of moving parts and I love how it all comes together,\u201d says Sue McKee, director of the Ottawa chapter. \u201cPersonally, my favourite thing is getting into the greenhouse before everyone arrives and being immersed in the butterflies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show is such a great opportunity to meet and interact with people,\u201d says Carleton biochemistry student Igor Kabic, the local events coordinator for Let\u2019s Talk Science. \u201cAs a Carleton student, I took like a butterfly and emerged from my chrysalis and become even more involved in university community.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing children\u2019s and adult\u2019s faces light up when a butterfly lands on their finger, being the \u2018chosen one\u2019 that a butterfly is deciding to spend their time with, is one of the best experiences at the show. A moment of wonder and intrigue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Butterflies<\/div>\n
\n
\n

End of the Ed Era<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 2024 butterfly show, from Oct. 5 to 13, is special not only because it\u2019s the 25th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary, but also because it will be Bruggink\u2019s final year at the helm. He will be retiring next spring after 44 years at Carleton.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh gosh, we will miss him!\u201d says McKee.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not just the keeper of the butterflies, he\u2019s become our friend. Whoever takes on his position has big shoes to fill!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The university\u2019s butterfly event is unique, Bruggink says, because similar shows are run by businesses, while Carleton is in the business of education.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Carleton\u2019s butterflies tend to receive a lot of media coverage. Because there are so many negative items on the news, Bruggink thinks there\u2019s an appetite for happy stories.<\/p>\n

Which, in a sense, is why people come back every year \u2014 to lose themselves in the colourful blur of butterflies.<\/p>\n

Asked if he has a favourite butterfly, Bruggink answers immediately: the blue morpho. This response is kind of ironic. A man who shuns the spotlight, despite his tireless contributions, loves this particular butterfly because it\u2019s the flashiest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many to choose from, but it\u2019s the top of the list for me,\u201d he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhen it opens up, you see this iridescent blue that shimmers in the sunlight. It\u2019s magical.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The butterfly effect is a phenomenon whereby a small action has a profound impact on a large, complex system. Such as that fateful day back in 1998 when Carleton University greenhouse manager\u00a0Ed Bruggink\u00a0and his wife Joanna decided to go see an exhibit featuring flying butterflies in Montreal. As they watched a couple hundred of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCarleton Butterfly Show Celebrates a Quarter Century of Natural Wonder - Department of Biology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The butterfly effect is a phenomenon whereby a small action has a profound impact on a large, complex system. 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