30th Anniversary Auction Items | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Live Auction Items

Silent Auction Items

Live Auction Items

Dinosaur in your home

This matching pair of gray shale slabs bear an original footprint of Connecticut’s state dinosaur, Eubrontes, and the sedimentary cast associated with the footprint when it was originally found. It comes from South Hadley, Massachusetts, and was formed in the early Jurassic period (200 million years ago) by a bipedal predatory dinosaur. (each piece ~12 x 14 in; 15 lbs total).

Fair market value: $1,000

Fearsome friend

Based on one of the finest specimens of sabertooth cat in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, this replica of a complete skull bears fangs over 6” long. Its precision casting and tarpit finish mirror the original in every detail. (14 in. high with stand; 8 lbs).

Fair market value: $375

A tapeworm to call your very own!

A rare opportunity to have a species new to science named after you (or a friend or relative of your choosing)! This new species of tapeworm was collected from a Sharpnose shark off the island of Borneo. Your patronym will include a stunning framed metal print of a colorized scanning electron micrograph of your tapeworm. (16″ x 20″).

Fair market value: $500

Butterfly glory

This colorful, framed display features a spectacular array of hand-mounted butterflies from Peru. All specimens were farm-raised in expansive netted outdoor enclosures and processed only when their life cycles are over. This butterfly art serves both as a source of income for local Peruvians and to prevent the collecting of specimens from rainforest and jungle habitats. (8″ by 36″).

Fair market value: $200

Birding with the best

An exclusive birding trip with the Connecticut State Ornithologist and EEB’s “Ornithologist to Hollywood” for you and 9 guests on the Connecticut River. This private charter on the vessel RiverQuest includes lunch and several hours of non-stop bird watching. Trip to be scheduled on a mutually agreeable weekday between June through September of 2015.

Fair market value: $1,000

Lady Huskies basketball

Official UConn basketball autographed by the entire 2013 National Championship UConn Women’s Basketball team, as well as coaches Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey.

Fair market value: $50

Silent Auction Items

Keep your pH balanced

This, one-of-a-kind item is the personal umbrella of EEB’s Dr. Gene Likens. It not only bears the words “Acid Rain Umbrella. Keep my pH balanced”, but it is also autographed by Gene himself. The first to recognize the presence of acid rain in North American and its threat to our planet’s health, Gene remains a vocal advocate that measures be taken to remediate this serious threat.

Fair market value: $30

Woodpeckers be gone (or not!)

Need advice as to how to stop woodpeckers from hammering on your house? The Connecticut State Ornithologist will come to your home and consult with you as to how to stop these beautiful creatures from drilling in to your siding in a woodpecker-friendly way. OR woodpeckers not a problem? The CT State Ornithologist will come to your home and consult with you on how to make your yard more bird friendly or on other bird-related matters of interest to you.

Fair market value: $100

Giant “stinky” plant

Amorphophallus titanum is native to Sumatra, Indonesia, and is one of the world’s largest flowers. The “corpse” flower, as it is commonly known, is also notable for its odor, which is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing animal, and thus is effective for attracting its pollinating flies. Although still a seedling, this offering is already 4 feet in height and, with care and some luck could bloom in the next six to eight years.

Fair market value: $200

Carnivorous plant

This “pitcher plant” (Nepenthes alata) is native to the Philippines. It is named for the bizarre pitcher-like traps at the tips of its leaves. It features enzyme-filled pitchers over 4 inches long, which it uses to attract, capture and subsequently digest insects. Relatively easy to care for, this carnivorous plant is likely to be one of the more unusual elements of your plant collection.

Fair market value: $30

Know your caterpillars

This lavishly illustrated guide to the caterpillars of eastern North America will enable you to identify any caterpillar of a butterfly or moth you should encounter in your backyard. Alternatively, with its over 1200 striking color photographs, it makes a fine addition to any library. Its author, EEB’s Dr. Dave Wagner, will be on hand to provide a personal inscription of your choosing.

Fair market value: $22

A cicada to be seen rather than heard

This sterling silver cicada brooch comes from the personal collection of EEB’s world cicada expert Dr. Chris Simon. A life-like representation of one of these resonant creatures, this pin calls to mind the fact that cicadas are often the subject of poetry, and figure prominently in folk tales and modern prose. Cicadas are traditionally considered to be signs of wealth, health, happiness, and rebirth. (~4.5 inches wide).

Fair market value: $90

Prickly “fat plant”

A member of the Family Apocynaceae, pachypodiums are renowned for their swollen stems, spiny armature and attractive flowers. This multi-stemmed specimen of Pachypodium densiflorum brevicalyx was collected at the type locality in the mountains of northwestern Madagascar. It is starting to show floral buds. (~20” tall in fine ceramic pot).

Fair market value: $150

On tiny plants at the end of the world

Discover the miniature world of mosses and lichens carpeting the forest floor, draping the trees, and colonizing rocks with this pair of books by EEB’s Bernard Goffinet and colleagues. These wonderfully illustrated guides provide a gateway to one of the richest floras in the extreme untouched environment at the end of the Americas— subantarctic Chile. After flipping through their pages you may want to revise your next holiday destination! Dr. Goffinet will be available to provide an inscription of your choosing.

Fair market value: $95

Cape Cod getaway

Enjoy a week in a quaint cottage on Cape Cod. Located in Chatham, MA, this three-bedroom home offers expansive ocean views and access to a private sandy beach. Fully furnished it is an ideal summer vacation location. Mutually agreeable dates between May 30 and June 18, 2015.

Fair market value: $2,400

Unusual sunset

This photo features a praying mantis of the genus Epitenodera “enjoying” a lovely sunset evening in the African country of Mozambique. It was taken by renowned entomologist, photographer, author, and EEB alum, Dr. Piotr Naskrecki. (14″ x 18″ with frame).

Fair market value: $200

Dewy silk tree

Taken by award winning photographer and EEB alum Dr. Adam Wilson, this photo features a beech tree (Nothofagus betuloides) refracted in droplets of a spider web on Navarino Island, subantarctic Chile. (18″ x 24″ with frame).

Fair market value: $200

Scaly splendor

This high magnification image features the colorful, iridescent scales of the Madagascan sunset moth, Chrysiridia rhipheus. It was taken by Mark Smith of Macroscopic Solutions using a combination high-resolution digital cameras, powerful optics, industry leading precision hardware and novel software packages. (18″ x 24″ with frame).

Fair market value: $200

Tiger leg monkey tree frog

This photo illustrates the appropriateness of the common name (“tiger leg monkey tree frog”) of this delicate hylid frog, more formally known as Phyllomedusa tomopterna. It was taken in the jungles of Suriname, by renowned entomologist, photographer, author, and EEB alum, Dr. Piotr Naskrecki. (12″ x 18″ with frame).

Fair market value: $75

Pink flower portrait

This photo was taken and skillfully edited by EEB current graduate student Ellen Woods. It features a long-time resident of EEB’s Greenhouses, the hybrid orchid Phragmipedium lemoinierianum. Ellen is a recent recipient of a Garden Club of America & Royal Horticultural Society Interchange Fellowship award to support her botanical work. (18” x 24” with frame).

Fair market value: $200