Giant Jumping Stick (Stiphra sp.)

[guppiecat]

The Minnesota Zoo has a “Big Bugs” exhibit going on right now. This is your chance to go see some pretty special insects that you’ll likely not get the chance to see again. There are still a few weeks left in the exhibit, so if you like weird looking critters like this, you should probably go.

Comments

[mle292.livejournal.com]

How do they prevent the bugs from getting out? What ecological disaster is this?

[guppiecat]

I actually had a talk with a zoo keeper about this very scenario. It's a USDA-approved containment facility, which means two layers of isolation (making photography difficult).

Some bugs are allowed out, but only under the control of a keeper, and only if they are fairly certain that they can't fly. (There was some theorizing about the flight capabilities of the Atlas beetle. (It did not escape while I was there.))