Alien is the only horror movie that has ever left John Watts sleepless, and that’s because it rang true. “It’s based on parasitoid insects that lay eggs in a host, and instead of killing the host, they slowly eat it alive from inside,” the Dallas entomologist explains. “They go through various stages of life while inside the host and wait until the last moment to kill them. It’s a very shocking thing in nature.”
The oddity of insects is what has always intrigued him, says Watts, 64, who directs the popular Butterfly House and Insectarium at Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park. “They do seem very alien, so different to us,” he says. “At the same time, they are just kind of neat to look at because they are so diverse. The more you learn about them, the more fascinating they are.”
The insect collection that he started as a boy now fills an entire bedroom in his home — more than 100 shadow boxes filled with specimens, each meticulously labeled. Insects are critical to the ecosystem, Watts notes, and their numbers are falling due to habitat loss, global warming, drought, pesticides and other factors.
“I just got through reading a book called The Insect Crisis, and it’s even worse than I thought,” he says. “They are declining worldwide. They are cold blooded, so when it’s triple digits outside, those insects are triple digit. They have no way to cool off.”
Bees, wasps, ants, butterflies and other insects are essential for crops that rely on external pollination. Insects are also a crucial part of the food chain, especially for birds, amphibians and bats, many of which would go extinct without them. And they play a crucial role in breaking down manure and dead plants and animals that would otherwise be woefully odiferous.
“Without them there would be no birds, no fruit or vegetables,” Watts says. “The diversity of plants would be very little. What purpose would flowers serve without insects?”
A walking encyclopedia
Bugs have been Watts’ thing ever since he roamed vast woodlands in Florida and the Carolinas as a child. “I was lucky that I had a science teacher in high school who saw how much I already knew and encouraged me to go to college, because otherwise I wouldn’t have gone,” he says.
Now, people in Watts’ field consider him something of a walking encyclopedia. “I’m the person they go to when they’ve caught something — ‘John probably knows what it is.’ Apparently, it’s unusual to know this much,” he says.
Managing all of the tropical plants and insects in Fair Park’s two-story butterfly house is fairly complex, because the creatures are highly regulated by state and federal authorities. “We’re not allowed to let them reproduce,” Watts says. “They are classified as plant pests since caterpillars eat leaves. We can’t plant anything that butterflies would lay eggs on or that a caterpillar would eat. There are lots of regulations.”
He’s also growing a canopy of flowering trees and adding flowering bushes underneath to create “multiple layers of butterfly flowers.” Watts aims to keep around 500 butterflies representing 40 to 60 species fluttering about the house. Since many of them live less than a month, he receives chrysalises (butterflies in the pupa stage of development) from around the world every week. About half are from farms in Latin America, while others are shipped from Kenya, Malaysia and the Philippines.
“There are some really cool ones from Africa with patterns that remind you of African masks,” Watts says. “We have big blue morpho butterflies, owl butterflies and the most common are longwing butterflies. They are very boldly patterned and inedible to predators. They live longer than most butterflies.”
Watts keeps an eye on weather around the world, which can affect the deliveries. Hurricane Beryl, for instance, reduced the number of chrysalises from a regular supplier in El Salvador.
The garden releases butterflies daily, and Watts typically gives a 20-minute presentation about them. In the weeks before Halloween, he often greets visitors dressed as an 18thcentury “gentleman entomologist” in a tricorn hat, buckle shoes and a blue frock coat decorated with insect brooches.
“I’ll put an emperor scorpion or a tarantula on my hand and let it crawl around,” he says. “It’s a chance to teach about their importance in nature.” Isn’t that risky? “Not all scorpions are deadly poisonous,” he says. “In fact, most of them aren’t. But it doesn’t feel good when they pop you.”
How to help
The insect apocalypse is bad for the entire planet and everyone on it, but there are ways that you can help these beneficial creatures stay alive and thrive.
Don’t use pesticides.
There are more beneficial insects than detrimental ones around the house and in the yard. Combat pests with their natural enemies, like fighting aphids with ladybugs. If an insecticide is needed, use it intermittently or as a spot treatment.
Landscape with native plants.
They provide nectar for pollinators and are adapted to local soil and weather, so they require less water and maintenance. Examples include lantana, milkweed, butterfly weed, rock rose, turk’s cap, coreopsis, blue mistflower, coneflower, Texas bluebonnet and passionflower. For plants and advice on how to grow them, visit local nurseries such as North Haven Gardens or Redenta’s Garden in Dallas, Marshall Grain Co. in Colleyville and Shades of Green Nursery + Landscape in Frisco and Celina. Native American Seed in New Braunfels has an informative website and vends seeds for wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, vines and trees.
Keep some leaves.
Composting leaves in your yard provides protection and a habitat for insects over the winter.
Turf has no benefit to the environment, so make part or all of your lawn into a natural habitat.
Create an island of flowering native plants and shrubs within your lawn or convert the whole thing to a meadow of native grasses and plants.
Mow less frequently.
A short lawn offers no habitat for insects.
Plant insect-friendly herbs.
Chives, lavender, oregano, rosemary and sage will grow on a balcony, patio or windowsill.