PHILADELPHIA, July 14, 2017

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The 10th annual Bug Fest, a festival that celebrates insects of all kinds with hundreds of live critters, roach races, bug walks, and even insect-tasting, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 12 and 13, at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.

Hundreds of millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, stick insects, caterpillars, tarantulas, live beetles—including one of the world’s longest—and more will be wiggling around the museum during the Academy’s most popular festival.

Visitors will be able to hold a cockroach, count the legs on a centipede, witness insects walking on water, examine insect decomposers up close, and talk with Academy entomologists about their favorite bugs. Chocolate chirp cookies, made with nutritious crunchy crickets, will be among the buggy cuisine available to sample.

“We’ll have more than 120 species of live insects on display throughout the museum,” said Academy Insect Specialist and Bug Fest organizer Karen Verderame. “Our Butterflies! exhibit will have some new species flying, too. And for the first time we’ll have a baby bug scavenger hunt through the museum.” 

Bug Fest is a great opportunity to learn the science behind the news headlines and talk with Academy experts about mosquitoes and invasive (and sometimes destructive) species including lanternflies and ash borer beetles. Some of these insects that can wreak havoc in the backyard will be on display as part of the museum’s research collection of more than 4 million insects.

Despite the more than one million insects that scientists have already identified, experts estimate there are millions more to be discovered.

“Bugs run the world and are more diverse than any other living thing on earth,” Verderame said. “They are pollinators, nature’s recyclers and exterminators, and are an important food source for many other living things. The more we know about them, the more success we’ll have for a sustainable future.”

Bug Fest, sponsored by Western Pest Services, takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Discount tickets are available at ansp.org. Here are some more activities. For a full list, ansp.org.

Predator or Pollinated?

Celebrate the unique connections between bugs and plants. See plants that eat bugs and learn how to make your backyard a paradise for local pollinators.

Roach Race 500

Cheer on your favorite roach as it tries to conquer three different tracks in the famous Roach Race 500.

Bug Picasso

Watch as creative cockroaches and maggots crawl and scurry across paper to create one-of-a-kind works of art. Take home a unique piece of art.

Live Invertebrate Stage Show

See bugs magnified on the big screen.

Bedbug-sniffing Dog Demonstrations

Meet the canines and their companions that help sniff out bugs that bug us at home.

Bug Walks

Join Academy entomologists on an expedition outside the museum to see what species of invertebrates live there.

Crafty Critters

Create a bug-themed craft to take home.

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