Bee-lieve it or not, this Sunday is the 13th annual Arizona Insect Festival in Tucson.
The free event is put on by the University of Arizona’s Department of Entomology. Local insect-related and educational nonprofits get together with a handful of scientists, as well as their creepy-crawly test subjects, for a sort of bug-themed science fair.
One of the scientists who will be there is Todd Schlenke, an associate professor at the University of Arizona.
"I’d have to say my favorite insect is the fruit fly, drosophila melanogaster. The lab fruit fly, because that’s what I based my career around," said Schlenke.
Schlenke and one of his colleagues will have a mesh cage with thousands of fruit flies at their booth. People will be able to stick their hand in the cage or try to catch the flies with an aspirator.
"Basically just tubes that you put in your mouth, and that’s what we use in the lab to catch flies and move them around places we want," said Schlenke. "Usually kids are really excited about it. And parents, not so much."
Don’t worry — there’s a filter on the mouth end of the tube.
There will be about 35 booths at the festival, including “The Joy of Roaches” and “Stings and Things.”
"I think one thing that makes the fest unique is that you really do get to interact with the insects. It’s not so much like a zoo where you’re kind of looking at them, you know, behind glass," Schlenke said.
If you go
When: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025.
Where: ENR2 building on UA campus, 1064 E. Lowell St., Tucson, AZ 85719
Cost: Free
Details: arizonainsectfestival.org
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