Insect Outreach at the Eastern Maine Sportsmen's Show

On Sunday, March 22nd, the University of Maine's (UMaine) Patch Entomology Club set up an outreach table at PCCA's Eastern Maine Sportsmen's Show. While the booth was set up in the Youth Area, guests of all ages stopped by the table.

The tables had books, fields guides, pinned specimens, other preserved specimens, and live insects. They also had a poster showing the "Garden Guardians of Maine" and corresponding stickers. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

The tables had outreach specimens, outreach materials, and flyers for their upcoming Earth Day event, a special screening of the documentary, The Extraordinary Caterpillar.

They also brought outreach insects, including Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, an Indonesian Shield Mantis, a Spiky Flower Mantis, a Blonde Tarantula, and mealworms and darkling beetles. Guests had the opportunity to pick up the cockroaches, and pet the tarantula. Some guests even got to hold the Indonesian Shield Mantis.

The tables had multiple cases of pinned specimens from the UMaine outreach collection. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

Among the live insects they brought was a Blonde Tarantula, a species native to the deserts of the Southwestern United States. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

Children were encouraged to head over to the create-your-own-insect station, where they could create their own insect using stamps of different body parts (antennae, legs, wings), and coloring supplies. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

Some guests got to hold the Indonesian Shield Mantis. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

Two girls spent quite some time getting to know the cockroaches, even naming them. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)