By Rick LoBello, Education Curator

21 years ago, when I first started working at the Zoo, Director Bill Torgerson arranged to have a group from Las Cruces present a special event all about bugs.   A few months earlier I was hired to fill the new position of Education Curator and noted how our education animal collection was well represented with all kinds of bugs including tarantulas, black-widow spiders, millipedes and more.  The Zoo also had an amazing volunteer program and with all the bugs we needed the following year we hosted our own Bug Fest with the help of Zoo Keepers from Area 2.   Almost every year since the event has been one of the most rewarding and well received events ever hosted by the Zoo and Bug Fest 2023 promises to be no different. 

Today long time Education Specialist Heather Rivera organizes every aspect of the event with the help of staff and volunteers. 

Education Specialist Heather Rivera

Our Zoo Marketing Specialist Sarah Borrego is organizing the very popular bug tasting experience in the Wildlife Amphitheater at noon.  This year Truly Nolen Pest and Termite Control and KTSM TV will be preparing some delicious bug treats.    

The entrance to the Wildlife Amphitheater will open 30 minutes prior to presentation time at 11:30am. The first 400 theater guests will be given one ticket to exchange for one sample while supplies last.

MENU

-Scorpion Michelada- tomato juice, lime juice, hot sauce, topped with a Manchurian scorpion

-Mini chocolate chip cookies with roasted crickets

-Watermelon topped with grasshoppers and seasoning

-Pineapple glazed donut with dragon fruit crickets

Eating bugs is one of the things most people in El Paso have little experience with. I guess this is mainly because most of us prefer other kinds of food.  According to the World Atlas El Paso may not be a bug eating city, but around the world about two billion people eat insects daily.  Did you know that a cockroach is comprised of 65% protein, whereas beef contains 50% protein?   Amazingly more than 1,000 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80% of countries worldwide.

New this year the first 500 families each day will be able to play Bug Loteria and receive an animal picture card as a prize .    We will have tarantulas , cockroaches, millipedes, centipedes, scorpions, beetles and for the first time ever – stick insects!    The event will take place on Saturday and Sunday May 20-21 from 10am-4pm.  

Don’t miss Bug Fest 2023.  The Zoo is making the event bigger and better every year.