Museo de los Bichos, The Museum of Insects
I was on my way to the museum of amber when I encountered a comic figure of a preying mantis on the walking street . Next to him a man held a live tarantula in his hand. I had held my first tarantula at Tikal and was eager to repeat the experience. For those of you who are afraid of insects and of enormous spiders in particular, holding a tarantula may seem like something you would never do. I understand this impulse. I met my first tarantula in Australia, in my bedroom, as a 17 year old exchange student. I was scared spitless. I screamed. Despite the reassurance of my hosts that tarantulas were not agressive unless provoked and that they were good at eating insects, the tarantula was killed. In fact I smuggled it home preserved in alcohol and showed all my friends this dead massive spider. Now that I know tarantulas I am sorry I behaved so aggressively towards this gentle creature.
I was on my way to the museum of amber when I encountered a comic figure of a preying mantis on the walking street . Next to him a man held a live tarantula in his hand. I had held my first tarantula at Tikal and was eager to repeat the experience. For those of you who are afraid of insects and of enormous spiders in particular, holding a tarantula may seem like something you would never do. I understand this impulse. I met my first tarantula in Australia, in my bedroom, as a 17 year old exchange student. I was scared spitless. I screamed. Despite the reassurance of my hosts that tarantulas were not agressive unless provoked and that they were good at eating insects, the tarantula was killed. In fact I smuggled it home preserved in alcohol and showed all my friends this dead massive spider. Now that I know tarantulas I am sorry I behaved so aggressively towards this gentle creature.
Still it was 35 yaers later before I was given the opportunity to reexperience tarantulas. At Tikal, our guide had enticed a beautiful mahogany, orange and blank tarantuala out of its nest. Luis held the tarantula his hands and told us that tarantulas did not bite, then offered it to us as proof..
The tarantula was SOFT! It resembled a fuzzy stuffed animal, and sat delicately on my hand. I felt no fear, only such tenderness for it. I reluctantly passed her on to the next person in our group.
So I was happy when the man on the street asked if I would like to hold the tarantula.
He told me there were more tarantulas and other insects too at the Museum of Insects just around the corner. of course I went.
So I was happy when the man on the street asked if I would like to hold the tarantula.
He told me there were more tarantulas and other insects too at the Museum of Insects just around the corner. of course I went.
This is a private museum and the life work of one man, etymologist Jesus Fuentes. His skill is apparent in his extensive collection of insects, all separated into their families, from bugs so tiny you wonder how he could catch them without obliterating them to some of the largest insects of their kind in the area. Included in this is a beautiful collection of the local butterfly population.
I'm a butterfly!
But the most inspiring part of this museum was the 20 minute passionate presentation by Jesus Fuentes himself. He says, "Without insects, we could not survive. They clean up the world. But what do we do? " he pauses, waiting for the audience to fill in the blanks, "we kill them." He goes on to argue that insects spread disease only because humans do not live very hygenically. And also that we need to appreaciate what they do for us, not just helping nature's necessary decay and detoxification, but also pollinating the plants, providing food to people who eat them for protein, and aerating the soil. He took a large Madagascar cockroach out of a glass case and talked about how efficient they were at cleaning the forest of decaying matter. I was the first of the group to hold it, it was very beautiful and more stout than those in Hawaii. Several people in the group simply shuddered and did not volunteer their hands.
And of course at the end we could hold the tarantula again. Or maybe let her take a little stroll up our chest.
Later in the day I was in the main square, watching the Maya fire dancers perform the drumming and dancing ritual with the mask of the jaguar as the sun was setting. When suddenly up behind me I could hear a group of gigling Mexican adolescents. When I read the signs they were holding I gave them each a hug. They are part of the global free hug movement, in which people stand in a public place with a sign offering a free hug. On Youtube, there are videos of this action by people around the world. I myself had introduced my classes at the University of Hawaii to the free hug movement three years ago. Suddenly the world felt connected by the heart in the most tangible way. Bugs and Hugs, what a day.
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