If you’re looking for something interesting and a bit out of the ordinary to do this weekend, look no further than the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium  for their annual beetle-mania!

“Why beetles?” you may ask. Well, did you know that beetles make up one-fourth of all animal species on the planet and are found on every continent, including Antarctica? And the Insectarium has plenty of types for you to come out and see.

Zack Lemann, Manager of Animal and Visitor Programs, says you’ll have many opportunities to see a vast variety of species: “You’ll see huge ones, you’ll see shiny, colorful ones. If you want, you can pin a beetle and take it home and start a little preserved collection of your own.”

One of the newest beetles here in town are the tyrant ground beetles. Black with white spots, these beetles can be found naturally in Northern Africa and Southern Asia. These large beetles secrete a nasty tasting chemical to keep predators from eating them. Other animals take advantage of this by mimicking the pattern.

Lemann says, “We’re going to show off these ground tyrant beetles off next to domino roaches, which as their name suggest are black with white spots. They live in the same part of the world, but any type of predator that’s tried to eat a tyrant ground beetle is going to leave a domino roach alone, because they look alike.”

So this weekend, head on downtown to the Audubon Butterfly Garden and insectarium. There’s plenty of fun including beetle races, beetle cookies with real mealworms inside and you’ll definitely walk away having learned something new!