How would you like to cuddle up next to a Madagascar hissing cockroach? I cannot say that this blogger is jumping at the opportunity but thousands of attendees at the Arizona Insect Festival would disagree.
Hosted at the University of Arizona the Arizona Insect Festival hosts a multitude of people and insects alike. Montessori School House student Maija Hildebrand said that she was a little afraid of some of insects and arachnids before attending, but before she knew what hit her she was holding a cockroach and tarantula! “I only got the nerve to hold the cockroach after I held the tarantula.” Maija exclaimed. Even braver than holding a cockroach or spider is the fact that some, including Maija, indulged in a worm with sauce or a worm cookie for a snack!
Most of the kids that attended the festival also had fun examining the bees at work on their honeycomb. Other children claimed that a favorite part of the day was holding the caterpillars.
According to volunteer Galen Dudenkauf, “Cockroaches are really cuddly really, they just have a bad rap because they hang put in dark places and they move quickly, but you know they were here for so much longer than us.” Additionally Dudenkauf believes the festival is important to normalize human relationships with insects.
Well I cannot quite say that I am ready to cuddle next to cockroach or spider but it is important to know how to deal with such pests and for that I will leave it to the pest control experts.