‘-MAD HATTER 2

 

Seashores & Dragonflies

This Christmas season take a walk along a nice
warm seashore, enjoy the different varieties of
plants, and see some interesting species of
dragonflies.

A pipe dream? No. These are two exhibits
currently showing in the display room at Douglas
College.

Sponsored by the Provincial Museum of B.C.,
with funding from the National Museum of Man,
these two exhibits can bring some much needed
relief to the cold of winter.

Seashore Plants of B.C., a 20 panel display, shows
how local aquatic plants survive in the surpri-
singly harsh environment by the sea.

The mere fact that plants live near salt water
demands that this flora is waterproof! Through
different coatings and adaptations, seashore
plants avoid the potential killing saline in the
water, air, and ground.

20 Varieties on Display

In total, the display shows strikingly beautiful
photographs of almost 20 varieties of B.C. native
seashore plants ranging from succulents, relatives
of aloe and cactus, to grasses, kinnikinnick and
flowering plants like the sea pink and wooly
cinquefoil.

After browsing through this exhibit, the other
side of the Douglas College 'museum' shows the
different species of local dragonflies, the vicious
carnivorous insect.

Despite their reputation for biting people, local
dragonflies spend the majority of their life
living as larva in the marshes, swamps, streams
and rivers of B.C.

These predatory insects exist in areas where the
water quality is high, and other insect populations
are kept fairly well in check.

Over 80 species of the dragonfly can be found in
the province, with varieties as diverse as the

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DOUGLAS COLLEGE

    
 

 

 

enormous Aeshna Palmata found at Harrison
Hot Springs and the tiny Ischnura Peroarva
located in Oliver. The exhibit also shows that
dragonflies can even fall prey to the occasional
carnivorous plant in this province, such as the
Venus fly trap and pitcher plant found in some
marsh areas.

Educational and Entertaining Break

The majority of preserved specimens in this
travelling exhibit were taken from the private
collection of Robert A. Cannings, entomologist
for the Provincial Museum of B.C.

Both exhibits, the Seashore Plants of B.C. and
Dragonflies, are on display in room 3714 of
Douglas College, until January 4, and a quick
stroll through should take about 15 minutes.

It's educational and entertaining, and provides
a nice break from the rigours of the holiday
season.

- DOUGLAS COLLEGE NEWS SERVICES.

 

 

Office of the Registrar
Christmas Office Hours
Thursday, December 19 to Friday, January 3
10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Monday, January 6, Tuesday, January 7 and
Wednesday January 8, 1986

Registration 800 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Thursday, January 9 and Friday, January 10
Office of the Registrar Closed