To celebrate Florida’s critters, UF is hosting the first-ever Bug Week.
The multimedia event, which aims to showcase the entomology program and educate residents, started Monday and will last through Friday.
Ruth Borger, assistant vice president for UF/IFAS communications, said the goal of Bug Week was to bring forward the research done by UF experts through social media.
Borger said she hopes residents will log on to bugs.ufl.edu during Bug Week and learn that not all bugs are necessarily “bugly.”
Throughout the week, the website will be updated with profiles of Florida bugs, insect news as well as recipes for those brave enough to list insects as ingredients, Borger said. There will also be a bug of the day and updates posted on Twitter.
“We interact with bugs a lot in Florida,” she said. “We’re trying to help Florida residents get the information they need to deal with bugs, especially in the end of summer season.”
People who mention Bug Week will receive a $2 admission discount to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Rainforest.
Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, Bug Week technical adviser, said although it’s bug season year-round in Florida, the information on the website will come in handy with Memorial Day weekend around the corner.
Although this is the first Bug Week, Gillett-Kaufman said she hopes it will grow to become an annual event.
Gillett-Kaufman said students and Florida residents would be able to gain a new perspective on bugs instead of being afraid of them.
“Not all bugs are bad bugs,” she said.
Contact Alexa Volland at avolland@alligator.org.
