Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more information see the Zoo InternQuest Journals. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal.

They’re everywhere – skittering beside us, flying above our heads, and burrowing below our feet. No, they’re not spies – they’re invertebrates! As arthropod keepers Paige Howorth and Kelli Walker told us, invertebrates need protection just like mammals even though they account for 99% of our planet’s animal life.

When our knowledgeable arthropod keepers took us to the new bug exhibit in the Children’s Zoo, I was amazed at the beautiful exhibits and even more impressed at the sight of some wild-looking bugs. Giant spiders rested in webs spun in a mini bamboo forest, hissing cockroaches coated a moss-covered wall, and colossal walking sticks rested among leaves. The beautiful bugs certainly amazed me, which is part of this exhibit’s main purpose. In order to protect arthropods, people have to replace their fear of them with respect and admiration. Without arthropods, we would be up to our noses in trash and waste, for they play a crucial role in the food chain. A decomposer’s idea of a delectable meal is something rotten beyond distinction, something we certainly do not want to deal with.

The real highlight of the day was when we went behind the scenes at the exhibit to where the Zoo’s arthropods are bred. When people hear the word “endangered,” they usually think of mammals such as tigers or pandas. But bugs can be threatened, too, which is why Paige Howorth and Kelli Walker work toward sustainable arthropod reproduction. Although some of these invertebrates can be tiny (though species like six inch-long walking sticks are anything but small!), the breeding center requires a lot of room to work. Some species need to be individually housed because of a hot temper, while others have unique temperature requirements. Whichever the reason, we saw tanks of diving beetles and crabs, and enclosures for stick insects, grasshoppers, whip scorpions, leafcutter ants, and other insects adorned with mesmerizing patterns. Whatever they are and however many legs they have, they have inspired me to appreciate arthropods.

Lauren Zeidler, Conservation Team

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