KBTV

Watercooler Diaries::Grasshoppers and Tarantulas and Slugs, Oh My!

One of the goals we had in mind when we launched our new show, Watercooler Diaries, was to give you the viewer more of the types of stories you requested in a format to which you responded. After literally hundreds of e-mails and comments after we ran our two-part boxing series “Out of the Office; into the Ring” my Web master Jason Parsely and I visited one of the more unique attractions in the area — Butterfly World!

It rests in Coconut Creek, about 30 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. Said to be the largest center of its kind on Earth, it’s home to thousands of butterflies, dozens of exotic plants and birds and a wonderful English rose garden. We saw butterflies emerge really from start to finish, beginning in the laboratory where they start in a cocoon and then to the Butterfly Emerging Area and ending in Wings of the World Secret Garden!

Some of the visitors are lucky enough to have the butterflies land on their head, hand or shoulder. I was there to try to snap some close-up photos and video that would, of course, be impossible to capture, say, in at friend’s back yard, but my other motivation was to enjoy yet another experience that folks seem to only be able to get in Florida.

As I mentioned, it all starts in the laboratory. From behind glass enclosures, wide-eyed visitors get to see the stages of metamorphosis from eggs to caterpillars to pupae to adult butterflies. Research also goes on in the lab, where experts have developed successful techniques for butterfly farming.

Then in the Adventure Aviary, Jason and I took in the amazing flowers and countless butterflies from five continents. We finally entered the Wings of the World Secret Garden. You have to have a quick eye to see the hummingbirds darting around at up to 45 MPH in this area — and an even faster camera to capture them on film or digitally. A few fun facts about the hummingbird: They are the smallest bird in the world; their favorite color is red; they visit 2,000 to 5,000 flowers a day to get their energy; for their size they have the largest heart and brain of ALL animals; and only a few of the species actually hum.

We had spent nearly two hours there, so I tried to scoot without going into the insect gallery. Then Jason grabbed me and said: “It is time to conquer your fears!” He insisted we enter what we later termed “The Bug Room,” which was packed with tourists. I first had to pretend I was prepared to eat a Lubber Grasshopper and I was expected to “bond” with a tarantula. And then finally I approached this nice young fellow with an Australian accent — he was apparently giving some kind of an informal tour — and asked him if I could touch that thing in his hand. I was so freaked out I can’t remember what it’s called! As it turns out, Jason was right. I felt a little bit better about the fact that despite the fact that I’m terrified of insects, I was able to conquer my fears and face the bugs — even touch whatever that was! Now, he wants me to develop a series for the Watercooler called The NEW NEW FEARFACTOR! Ug, not my kind of reality TV!

Check out the photos from our visit!

posted by INSIDE FAU @ 9:56 AM