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On September 26th, Bug Day took place in Ottawa at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. Sixty-eight bug enthusiasts worked together to present a diversity of insect related activities and displays to approximately 1700 visitors. ESO would like to thank everyone that helped out and the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club for co-sponsoring the event. We had great day filled with bugs and it was very rewarding seeing so many people having fun while learning all about insects.
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our cockroach wranglers
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The cockroach races were once again a big draw. Many races were won by a single antennal segment.
Marty McRoach and Blatella Fastula were neck and neck throughout the day, but in the end, Roachzilla was the track's grand champion. Lots of live insects and other invertebrates were at bug day for people to observe and hold. There were exotic Australian walking sticks, different kinds of millipedes, local caterpillars, tarantulas, mantids, beetles, and more...
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large Australian walking stick
all eyes were on the millipede
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large group of people sweep a field for insects
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Many people went out on the insect expeditions to learn how to spot and observe different insects. Nets and vials were available for the catch and release of bugs spotted.
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netting pollinators from flowers
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Expert insect taxonomists were on hand to teach people how to pin and label insects for scientific study. They even gave out helpful hints on how to identify the different orders of insects. Many are now looking forward to starting their own insect collection.
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our insect curator training team seems satisfied with the work accomplished by their new recruits
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kids pinning their first insect
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discovering a new world
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For some, it was their first time peering through a microscope to discover a multitude of micro wasps they had no idea existed. Certain micro wasps are used to control pests that attack our agricultural crops, some of which were on display at the good bug vs. bad bug display.
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various pests and their insect control agents
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a tiny glimpse of the CNC holdings
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The Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes displayed some of their most beautiful and fascinating insects. It's not often that the general public gets to see some of the specimens found in one of the world's largest insect collections whose main purpose is for scientific study.
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Learning how to identify insects
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Caramel cricket corn, chocolate cricket macaroons, oven roasted crickets and mealworms were served to all who were adventurous enough to try... Yum! Thanks to Next Millennium Farms for donating all of the crickets and mealworms used to make these tasty treats.
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Macoun Field Club member with local walking stick
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Young entomologists from The Macoun Field Club were on hand with some interesting local critters they collected. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency provided lots of information on invasive alien insects. A team of Carleton University graduate students had a variety of insect sound bytes and tested people's skills in matching sounds to insects. They were quite impressed with how well people did!
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face painting in action
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Our face painting crew worked hard all day painting all kinds of different insects on kids' faces and hands. They drew inspiration from the beautiful butterfly pictures that were on display.
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butterflies of the National Capital Region
bug crafts
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The Canadian Museum of Nature taught attendees all about the major insect body parts. Kids were then able to apply their newly acquired knowledge when making their own insect model to take home.
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clay insect model
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Bug Day Ottawa 2015 was a great event. We hope that we inspired some future entomologists and helped people gain a better understanding and appreciation of insects. We look forward to hosting this event again and encourage others with a passion for insects to join us and organize new displays/activities for next time.
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Why not pitch in?
If you're an insect enthusiast and want to get involved with local projects or events that the ESO is running, please send us an email and we would be happy to have your help. We are always looking for volunteers to help out with BUG DAY! Contact: Sophie Cardinal Email: sophie.cardinal@agr.gc.ca |
Donate
If time is something you can't spare, or you can't make the Bug Day event to help out, you can always pitch in, in other ways. You can make a monetary donation that the Society could surely use to offset the cost of Outreach Program days like BUG DAY! Every little bit helps. . . . |
