UGA’s expanded Insect Zoo turns fear into fascination with 30+ arthropod species
By Jordan Powers
Illustrations by Justin Patton
Photos by Caroline Newbern
Prey. Love. Eat. Meet Jeff, an avocado mantis. Jeff is drawn to the color black and loves to behead and eat grasshoppers. He and his many-legged neighbors live at the University of Georgia Department of Entomology’s Insect Zoo.
Home Sweet Habitat
Hundreds of crawling critters have taken up residence in Cedar Street Building B on the University of Georgia Athens campus, but there is no need to panic. The multi-legged neighbors are part of the newly reopened UGA Insect Zoo.
Supported by the Department of Entomology at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the zoo aims to not only educate but also ease the fear that often accompanies arthropod sightings.
So often, people can see insects and arachnids as scary and harmful, but the truth is that only about 1% of species are actually pests that do any real damage to humans or the economy,” said Kelly “Craz” Carruthers, undergraduate coordinator in the entomology department. “The zoo and its ambassadors teach us that most insects aren’t to be feared and that we can live with and value the work of these important little critters.”
The zoo’s residents — arthropods covering more than 30 species — include tarantulas, beetles, moths, scorpions and several species of stick insects. While some were acquired online or from reptile expos, others belong to students or are housed on campus through special permits from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“We have strategically added to the zoo’s collection to highlight the amazing arthropods we find out in the world,” Carruthers said. “The Insect Zoo opens the doors for conversations about the natural world, which is the best we can ask for!”
The spacious new location is open to the public and can accommodate greater numbers of visitors. A colorful mural featuring the zoo’s arthropods, supported in part by the UGA Arts Collaborative, welcomes visitors to the new space. The illustrations were created by students in the scientific illustration program at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art.
In addition to on-site tours, the Insect Zoo team, led by graduate and undergraduate students under Carruthers’ guidance, will continue interacting with the community through outreach programs at local schools and community events.
“I love how people’s faces light up and their curiosity is piqued when they hear that UGA has a live insect zoo,” said entomology Department Head Sonia Altizer.
“Everyone immediately wants to know what creatures are in there and how they can schedule a visit.”
Meet the H.O.A.
(House of Arthropods)
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal characterized by a hard outer shell, a segmented body and jointed legs. The largest phylum in the animal kingdom, insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and crustaceans are all arthropods.
Biographies compiled by Jordan Powers
Portraits by Katie Walker
Miss Bonnie,
Chilean rose hair tarantula
Grammostola rosea
Personality:
“A sweet angel,” very chill
Likes:
Dining alone on crickets, being the zoo’s senior resident (she’s 14!)
Dislikes:
Other tarantulas and when certain temporary wasps come to visit
“Listen, I’m a humble woman, but I have been featured a mural, a scientific article and even an NPR podcast. I can’t pretend I don’t hear the humans calling me the star and queen of the zoo.”
Mort,
Blue death-feigning beetle
Asbolus verrucosus
Personality:
Sweet and easy-going; everyone’s favorite theater kid
Likes:
Fruit, jelly, turning siblings into a jungle gym and his bestie, a velvet ant
Dislikes:
Rough handling and visitors who don’t appreciate the art of method acting
“Action! … And scene.”
Giant whip scorpion or vinegaroon
Mastigoproctus giganteus
Personality:
Shy, playful, cautious
Likes:
Burrowing under things, dumping dirt in the water bowl, tobacco horn worms
Dislikes:
Being picked up; will spray vinegar, turning you into a walking salt-and-vinegar potato chip
“Who turned on that light?!”
Peruvian walking sticks or black beauties
Peruphasma schultei
Personality:
Calm but dramatic, clumsy, escape artists, unbothered by dirt
Likes:
Honeysuckle privet, being gorgeous, taking care of their velvety “skin,” and spraying when they feel threatened
Dislikes:
Dr. Carruthers, competing for attention at outreach events
“¡Qué Piña!” – Peruvian slang that means
“such bad luck!” when spraying someone
Giant Malaysian leaf insect
Pulchriphyllium giganteum
Personality:
Amiable, zen, friendly
Likes:
Bramble, getting “uppies,” tree hugging
Dislikes:
None
“Am I more of an autumn, or a spring?”
Madagascar hissing cockroach
Gromphadorhina portentosa
Personality:
Generally unbothered (but occasionally dramatic), loves to climb and sometimes escape, will hiss when threatened
Likes:
Escaping their enclosure, dog food, old fruit
Dislikes:
Bad colony behavior, rude members of their own group
“To quote the great Fannie Flagg: ‘They say envy is a coal that comes hot and hissing straight from hell.”
Florida ivory millipedes
Chicobolus spinigerus
Personality:
Sweet, but can get scared and poop in your hand
Likes:
Lettuce, blueberries, pursuing freedom
Dislikes:
Low humidity (they are from Florida)
“Not to brag, but we are the Insect Zoo hide-and-seek champions. We may not have the camouflage some other zoo residents have, but no one can get a leg up on us.”
Monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus
Personality:
Adventurous, resilient
Likes:
Milkweed, people who plant milkweed
Dislikes:
Non-native milkweed, habitat loss for their relatives, birds
“We may look delicate, but we’re actually very tough and resilient — not to mention poisonous due to our milkweed diet!”
Listen to an interview with Kelly Carruthers and hear the Madagascar hissing cockroaches in this interview with WUGA.
News media may republish this story. A text version and art are available for download.
