Riverside Insect Fair
By Mia Rotell
INSECTS! Gross! You may think them creepy and cringe-worthy — and wonder about why they even exist. Well, they are invaluable, contributing countless appendages of import. And our local university is a global leader in the research, education, and discovery of entomology.
“Entomo” is Greek for “insect,” and “ology” means “the study of.” Entomologists are to thank for protecting crops, contributing to what we know of wildlife biodiversity, and the buggy part of pest control. UC Riverside is at the forefront of the worldwide study of the discipline.
This past Saturday, according to City of Riverside arts and cultural affairs division employee Tiffany Wheeler, 20-thousand attendees swarmedthe Riverside Main Library parking lot with anticipation and fascination of all the crawly and complex critters the Riverside Insect Fair had in store.
Julian Lantze, and his wife Heather are loyal attendees to the fair, this being their sixth year attending
“Look at all the community,” Julian observed, while enjoying the families and different groups of people coming together to learn more about the unsung heroes of the animal kingdom. Invertebrates make up more than half of the Kingdom Animalia.
This “brings different groups out too, like if you like insects, then you might like plants!” Julian added.
Information booths demonstrated the distinct attributes of the various species, including mosquitoes, beetles, and termites. Plant vendors offeredtips on starting a bug collection. UCR experts were available to answer attendees’ specific questions.
“These are all of our people — right here,” Julian said.
At one of the 10 booths, UCR entomology professors and grad students assisted visitors who held and learned about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Yes, really!
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are wingless and about 2-4 inches long. They live three to five years, and the hissing sound is made by pressing air through their abdominal breathing holes.
“One of the important things about this is education,” research associate Greg Kund said, “People come here to become familiar with different insects.”
Kund is in the urban entomology department at UCR, which includes cockroaches, termites, and bedbugs — insects commonly found in urban settings.
One of the most popular experiences at the fair was the ticketed “Touch a Bug “ event, where ticket holders actually cradled millipedes, tarantulas, praying mantises, and more. Yes, really!
“It always draws a lot of attention,” Tiffany Wheeler of the arts and cultural affairs division said. “It’s a very popular event.”
Wheeler disclosed that the “Touch a Bug” event is so popular that all 1,200 tickets sold out by 12:15 p.m.
The event also invites artistic creativity; this year’s fair theme is the honeypot ant. “Riverside Arts Council is doing an art exhibition in the library,” Wheeler explained. The event held a poetry contest where participants were required to pen their prose about ants. The selected winners received a certificate and the opportunity to read their work on stage.
The fair cajoled insect haters to realize most urban insects — even some of the wilder ones — are just as interesting and friendly as any four-legged friend. Hmmm. Really? Some who were scared or uneasy originally were observed fearlessly getting back in line to hold the same bug over and over again, perhaps deciding crawly critters weren’t that bad.
To learn more about entomology and test your courage to hold a bug, UCR is celebrating the 111th year of entomology at UCR on UCR’s campus on May 29. It will include a bug fest from 4 to 6 p.m. and will be celebrating the century-plus of research, discovery, and education of entomology at UCR.
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