Photos from Bug Blast

Bug Blast this past Sunday was a smashing hit. The galleries were buzzing with kids and adults alike hoping to get their chance to hold a tarantula or pet a hissing cockroach and performances by the Bug Chef and Bee Boppin' Bugs singer Nancy Stewart were packed. The wonderful Lora Shinn took photos. To view all event photos, click here, but here are a few favorites:

Next up on the family event calendar: Ice Age Archaeology Day!

Beneficial Bugs

If you look closely around your backyard, you can catch a glimpse of the tiny household helpers that often go unnoticed—bugs. Many insects in Washington State pollinate our gardens, eat pests in our homes and reduce the need for pesticides we use in our yards.

One insect found throughout Western Washington that’s good for our homes is the ground beetle. There are numerous different species that reside in damp areas. As larvae and as adults, ground beetles eat slugs and snails that invade our backyards. Large mandibles (pinchers) help them eat a variety of large and small prey. They also eat what many consider to be garden and house pests, such as house fly maggots and cutworms.

An adult Common Black Ground Beetle, photo courtesy of Washington State University

Want these predacious ground beetles to live in your backyard? These nocturnal animals like to hide during the day, so providing logs, rocks and soil areas for ground beetles can result in them staying in your yard. Also, only use pesticides when necessary, and spray directly on the plants in jeopardy. Reducing pesticide use saves ground beetles, which reduces the need to use pesticides!

To learn more about the bugs in your backyard, come to the Burke Museum’s Bug Blast on Sunday, Sept. 19 from 10 am – 4 pm. You can see bugs, touch bugs, and even eat some chef-prepared bug dishes!

Posted by: Andrea Barber, Communications

Check out photos from Bug Blast

This years' Bug Blast was a huge success! Over 1,200 people attended the event, making it the most visited Bug Blast to date. Thanks to all those who took part in the festivities, especially those brave enough to sample the cooked bugs.

Bug Blast Looms: Don't miss this Sunday's amazing event!!

Posted by: Rod Crawford, Curator of Arachnology

The first annual "Bug Day" event was organized by members of Scarabs: The Bug Society in 1988. The rationale was, and still is, to bring together kids interested in bugs from around the Puget Sound area and show them they are not alone. In their everyday lives, peers who think that bugs are “yucky” may surround these kids. Another main purpose is to show everyone that bugs are cool and people who like them aren't weird.

This year's event is the 10th since the bug days became "Bug Blast” at the Burke in 1999. Returning by popular demand is bug chef David George Gordon, author of The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook, who was with us back at Bug Blast No. 1. While I find crickets and grasshoppers especially tasty, David can make even a tarantula taste good—and insects are good for you too, often with 60% protein. Try one, you'll like it; cooking demonstrations on the Burke's front lawn are at 11 am, 12:30 pm, and 2 pm.

But that's far from all! There will be vast displays of private and public collections, including specimens never shown before; live ant and honey bee colonies, stream bugs, giant zoo insects from three zoos, tarantulas, carnivorous plants and more. Activities will include compost bug digging, microscope viewing, looking at the world through compound eye glasses, and making a craft called "Bugs of the Future." Dr. Glenn Kohler, the new state forest entomologist, is new to Bug Blast; he'll demonstrate the work of wood-boring beetles, "using baked potatoes as a surrogate for wood." And much more!

Please join us for Bug Blast, Sunday September 28, at the Burke Museum, 10 am to 4 pm. You'll be glad you did!

Bug Chef photo by Frank Ross