UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A new exhibition this summer will help visitors to the Bellefonte Art Museum explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and insects. The exhibition will be on display from July 5 to Aug. 25 at the museum located at 133 N. Allegheny St., Bellefonte.
Created by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, “Entwined Worlds” will shine a spotlight on the crucial role insects play in sustaining ecosystems; pollinating plants; inspiring art, music and literature; and contributing to advancements in medicine, biofuels and construction materials.
Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Penn State Center for Pollinator Research, said the exhibit will highlight the lives of insects while showcasing research in Penn State’s Department of Entomology.
"Insects are, as E.O. Wilson said, 'the little things that run the world,'" said Grozinger, who also directs the college’s Insect Biodiversity Center. "But we often don't notice them, and if we do, we think of them as a nuisance. The 'Entwined Worlds' exhibit provides a window into the complex lives insects are leading in our cities, farms and forests, and how they help shape the world we live in."
Michael Tribone, a graphic designer in the Department of Entomology, said the idea for the exhibit first came about as a way to connect people with nature in a new and exciting way. After the Bellefonte Art Museum received a grant from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, Tribone and the rest of the team created the exhibit with works from the Frost Entomological Museum at Penn State and the Center for Pollinator Research to show an appreciation for insects.
“We were trying to figure out ways to connect people, insects and the environment, and we wanted to do it in a way that wasn’t condescending or preachy,” Tribone said. “We wanted to make people more aware of their local environment, which can go as far as their backyard. It doesn’t have to be big world problems; it can be a local understanding and local action.”
Tribone said with this exhibition comes one of his favorite pieces from the Frost Museum, which showcases gall wasps. The female gall wasps — which are typically less than a few millimeters in length — inject plants with venom to trigger the plant to create the chamber-like gall, in which she lays her eggs. The gall then protects the young wasps from environmental threats while also providing food.
“I had not really noticed these wasps and the galls they make before, and I just found that really fascinating that here are these very tiny insects working in the plant world to develop a place to raise their young,” Tribone said. “I hope when people visit the exhibit, they leave with a greater appreciation for insects and the world that they create for themselves and for us.”
To learn more about the exhibition, visit the Bellefonte Art Museum website.