Jason Koski/University Photography

Samara Schwartz, 3, experiences the gentle touch of butterfly legs on her finger as her father, Peter Schwartz '87, looks on during Insectapalooza.

Jason Koski/University Photography

Cole Gilbert, associate professor of entomology, explains the inner workings of insect brains Oct. 3 in Comstock Hall.

Bugs may not be so creepy after all, many visitors learned at this year's Insectapalooza. Thousands of people showed up at Comstock Hall on Oct. 3 to see and hold giant millipedes, tarantulas, cockroaches, grasshoppers, scorpions and other critters. The annual event, hosted by Cornell's Department of Entomology, featured a smorgasbord of displays and activities to acquaint the public with the wonderful world of insects.

In the butterfly room, visitors got up close and personal with a fluttering rainbow of butterflies, letting them land on their hands, backs and even noses. At the cockroach races, children cheered roaches on as they scurried down a track. Kids scooped up water bugs out of a pool, took a peak at baby aphids through a microscope and made their own bugs out of paper.

Cornell owns the largest insect collection of any land-grant university -- more than 5 million specimens. Among those on display were butterflies collected by former English professor and novelist Vladimir Nabokov, who was also a distinguished lepidopterist.

Several rooms were filled with displays of live specimens, with entomology professors and student volunteers stationed to answer questions and let visitors hold some of the bugs. Linda Stephens, a senior in animal science, held a vinegarroon ("whip scorpion") in her hands to give people a closer look. "A lot of people mistake this guy for a scorpion because of the pinchers on its forearms," Stephens explained, "but he's not harmful at all. This species is actually best known for its ability to shoot acetic acid -- the chemical that gives vinegar its smell -- out of its tail."

Lily Elana Joseph, a 6-year-old from Ithaca with a large bumblebee painted on her cheek, said her favorite part of the insect zoo was seeing the tarantulas "because they're so big and hairy." For arachnid fans like her, Mexican red rump tarantulas were available to take home for $15 each. These pets can turn out to be a big commitment for an impulse buy, however; female tarantulas can live to be more than 15 years old.

While most bugs were on display for viewing, some had been prepped for eating. Lori Moshman, a sophomore entomology student volunteer, handed out dry-roasted crickets and cricket cookies to the more adventurous attendees. "Some kids have been eating these like popcorn today," she said, "and the funny thing is, the crickets actually sound like popcorn when they're in the oven." Those who overcame the heebie-jeebies enough to try one said they weren't bad -- they even tasted a bit nutty.

Graduate student Melissa Rice is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.