From “Pests” to Pets: Rethinking Insects

When you hear the word pet, what first comes to mind? You might think of a dog, cat, or even a fish.

Insects are more often associated with the word "pest" rather than "pet," but University of Maine (UMaine) students Kat Neri and Adrian Elliot would argue otherwise.

When Kat Neri tells people she owns insects as pets, usually the immediate response is, "Why?" To that, she replies, "But why does anyone have pets? It's just to have a little critter in your home."

Kat adopted her insect pets just a few months ago, while Adrian has been keeping insects and arthropods since fourth grade. Kat owns six Blue Death-Feigning Beetles, a desert-dwelling species of darkling beetle native to the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Blue Death-Feigning Beetles are a common insect pet, known for their powdery-blue color and their defense mechanism where they play dead for minutes to hours. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

Adrian also keeps Blue Death-Feigning Beetles, along with Dubia roaches, powder orange isopods, and native Maine isopods. He has also owned several species of praying mantises over the years.

Adrian's interest in insect keeping began in second grade, when his class raised monarch caterpillars into butterflies. A few years later, after a friend's pet praying mantis ootheca (egg case) hatched more nymphs than they could keep, Adrian brought one home himself.

Kat's introduction to insect keeping came more recently. Her interest in insects grew after taking an entomology course at UMaine. When she stumbled across a Craigslist listing for Blue Death-Feigning Beetles, she remembers thinking,"Why wouldn't I get them?"

In addition to his beetles, Adrian owns powder orange isopods (Photo by Kate Busko), Native Maine isopods (Photo by Camryn Sudimick), and Dubia roaches (Photo by Adrian Elliot).

While their timelines differ, both Kat and Adrian's interest in pet insects grew out of curiosity. For many insect owners, acting on this curiosity goes on to change how they perceive insects altogether.

While Kat admits, "I always kind of liked insects originally, otherwise I probably wouldn't have gotten them," she also mentioned, "I wish I realized insects are an option for pets sooner."

For Adrian, regularly observing his pet insects has led to a deeper appreciation and a shift in perspective.

"Once you really get down close to them, they're pretty cute. Especially being exposed to them on a day-to-day basis, I find their little faces and just their everyday actions to be much cuter than I think I did beforehand."

According to Kat, owning insects is the just like as owning any other pet. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

People often see insects as something to avoid, or even fear, but Kat and Adrian’s experience show that insects and arthropods can make great pets. Owning pet insects or arthropods gives owners the chance to observe them every day, creating a bond many people would not associate with these species.

"They all have their own personalities and they're just like any other pet."

Contrary to popular belief, insects can have quite the personality if you just look a little closer. One of the first steps to appreciating insects is by simply noticing them. (Photo by Camryn Sudimick)

"More people need to [...] just appreciate that they are living and though they might live differently, they still deserve their chance to exist."

Just like other pets, insects have their own specific care and feeding routines. Kat and Adrian do their best to replicate their Blue Death-Feigning Beetle's natural, arid, desert environment. Adrian feeds his beetles a high-protein diet. Here, he prepares them a meal of lettuce and carrots for water intake, a piece of a bait fish for protein, and a grape for a sweet treat. (Photos by Camryn Sudimick)

Check out this video to hear more about Kat and Adrian’s experience owning insects and arthropods as pets!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b02915_8a6626f211f648b397a3d7828802aed2/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

and feel free to click here to see a list of the Best Insects to Keep as Pets