About 500 adults and 260 children attended Saturday’s inaugural event for Bug Week at the Florida Museum of Natural History, which will continue online through Friday.
About 40 families used bug-related hints and navigated the Florida Museum during a scavenger hunt.
Kids also earned stickers for holding bugs such as cockroaches, spiders and scorpions in the petting zoo.
Michael Gonzalez, a 24-year-old UF entomology and nematology graduate student, dressed as a cockroach and handled bugs for the crowd.
Since many people only interact with bugs when killing them in their homes, they are often seen as gross “things,” Gonzalez said.
Entomology is about more than just creepy, crawly creatures. Gonzalez said the field plays an important role in areas such as forensics, anthropology and technology.
“Dragonflies can use each wing independently,” he said. “The military studies them to imitate that kind of flight.”
Bug Week is held partly to educate visitors about opportunities within the Entomology and Nematology Department, said Rebecca Baldwin, an assistant professor and the department’s undergraduate coordinator.
If a certain bug eats a resident’s lawn or even their clothes, Baldwin said, they can have the culprit analyzed at the department.
She said this year’s theme, “Big Money Bugs,” focuses on bugs that cause costly damage, such as termites.
Other Bug Week activities, such as interviews with entomologists, will be held online and through social media.
A list of upcoming events can be found at bugs.ufl.edu, and residents can find updates using #UFBugs.
