Hokie Bugfest

05/13/2026

Save the date for Hokie BugFest 2026!

Image: Save the date! Hokie BugFest will take place October 10th, 2026 from 10am-3pm at Squires Student Center.

05/07/2026

This year The Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech is offering a bug camp fit for our future generation of scientists. All camps will take place on the Blacksburg, VT campus.

Please only choose 1 camp to attend (all material will be the same throughout):

Bug Focus STEM Camp- During this camp, campers (ages 9-12) will learn about various types of bugs, learn how to preserve bugs (through pinning) and do a research project on a bug they want to learn more about. Cost- $120, June 1 - 5, 9am-noon, limit 16 campers.

Bug Focus STEM Camp- During this camp, campers (ages 9-12) will learn about various types of bugs, learn how to preserve bugs (through pinning) and do a research project on a bug they want to learn more about. Cost- $100, June 29-July 2nd, 9am-noon, limit 16 campers

Bug Focus STEM Camp- During this camp, campers (ages 9-12) will learn about various types of bugs, learn how to preserve bugs (through pinning) and do a research project on a bug they want to learn more about. Cost- $120, July 6-10, 9am-noon, limit 16 campers

For all camps- Snacks will not be provided however we will take a 15 min break around 10:30 am so that students can eat a quick snack outside and use the restroom. We encourage kids to bring a water bottle. To register please see- https://tinyurl.com/FLSI-Summer-Camps If you are in need of a scholarship, please contact me directly at [email protected] . Two scholarships are available each week for students whose parents indicate they have a financial need.

Note - this camp is not part of Hokie Bugcamp and is hosted by our valued collaborator at FLSI. It is another wonderful opportunity to get more in depth with the science of Entomology!

Image description: Fralin Life Sciences Institute Logo placed above three photos: a bee on a flowering tree, an insect themed craft, and a butterfly on the bark of a tree.

05/07/2026

There are still spots available at Hokie BugCamp! Sign up today for this fun and educational experience!

ANNOUNCING HOKIE BUGCAMP 2026!

Hokie BugCamp 2026 is offering 2 insect collecting sessions at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, VA. Sessions will be held on Friday, June 26, from 10am to 12pm and Saturday, June 27, from 10am to 12pm.

Registration for each session is limited to 25 youth on a first come first served basis. Registrants will be given insect collecting and pinning supplies to use during their session, as well as camp swag! Members of the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology will be available to assist with insect identification and collecting techniques. Every registrant must be accompanied by an adult and supervised by that adult for the duration of camp. This camp is recommended for children ages 6 to 13.

Registration for this event is $15 and includes a camp T-shirt. Optional take-home activity boxes (see description below) are available for purchase. Activity boxes will be available for pickup at the scheduled session.

Each child that wants to participate in collecting and pinning activities must register, even if they are accompanied by the same adult as another camper. Siblings are permitted to attend the camp without registering if they are choosing not to participate or use camp equipment.

Registration is now open at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/HOKIE-BUGCAMP

If you have any questions or need to request accessibility accomodations, please contact Whitney Weaver Wright at [email protected].

04/01/2026

April 22nd is Earth Day, but why only celebrate for a day? It turns out April is Earth Month!

Join in with some fun events coming up:

Check out our upcoming events to discover workshops, research presentations, and community activities that showcase our commitment to the environment. Earth Month events are hosted by a variety of groups across Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg, including student groups. Events are open to ev...

03/30/2026

https://jr-ranger.org/2026/willow-518d

Our friend Willow is competing in a contest and needs our help! Use your free vote to help out one of our nature-loving Hokie BugCampers!

Willow Is An Aspiring Entomologist With A Natural Explorer’s Instinct And An “up For Anything” Attitude. We Love Her Positive Curiosity!

03/27/2026

We still have spots open in Hokie BugCamp 2026! Register by May 29th.

ANNOUNCING HOKIE BUGCAMP 2026!

Hokie BugCamp 2026 is offering 2 insect collecting sessions at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, VA. Sessions will be held on Friday, June 26, from 10am to 12pm and Saturday, June 27, from 10am to 12pm.

Registration for each session is limited to 25 youth on a first come first served basis. Registrants will be given insect collecting and pinning supplies to use during their session, as well as camp swag! Members of the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology will be available to assist with insect identification and collecting techniques. Every registrant must be accompanied by an adult and supervised by that adult for the duration of camp. This camp is recommended for children ages 6 to 13.

Registration for this event is $15 and includes a camp T-shirt. Optional take-home activity boxes (see description below) are available for purchase. Activity boxes will be available for pickup at the scheduled session.

Each child that wants to participate in collecting and pinning activities must register, even if they are accompanied by the same adult as another camper. Siblings are permitted to attend the camp without registering if they are choosing not to participate or use camp equipment.

Registration is now open at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/HOKIE-BUGCAMP

If you have any questions or need to request accessibility accomodations, please contact Whitney Weaver Wright at [email protected].

03/09/2026

ANNOUNCING HOKIE BUGCAMP 2026!

Hokie BugCamp 2026 is offering 2 insect collecting sessions at Heritage Park in Blacksburg, VA. Sessions will be held on Friday, June 26, from 10am to 12pm and Saturday, June 27, from 10am to 12pm.

Registration for each session is limited to 25 youth on a first come first served basis. Registrants will be given insect collecting and pinning supplies to use during their session, as well as camp swag! Members of the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology will be available to assist with insect identification and collecting techniques. Every registrant must be accompanied by an adult and supervised by that adult for the duration of camp. This camp is recommended for children ages 6 to 13.

Registration for this event is $15 and includes a camp T-shirt. Optional take-home activity boxes (see description below) are available for purchase. Activity boxes will be available for pickup at the scheduled session.

Each child that wants to participate in collecting and pinning activities must register, even if they are accompanied by the same adult as another camper. Siblings are permitted to attend the camp without registering if they are choosing not to participate or use camp equipment.

Registration is now open at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/HOKIE-BUGCAMP

If you have any questions or need to request accessibility accomodations, please contact Whitney Weaver Wright at [email protected].

02/19/2026

Last chance to donate to Hokie BugFest

https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/hokiebugfest

We have one hour left of Giving Day 2026 and could really use your help. Any little bit helps! Please consider donating to support our outreach efforts and bug zoo. We greatly appreciate your support.

02/19/2026

2 hours left to give to the bugs!

We have a team of highly talented people that help with our bug zoo, along with the necessary equipment to house and keep the zoo residents healthy and happy. However, each year zoo residents consume about 40kgs of food, including fruit and vegetables for our herbivores and live animals for our carnivores.

Each insect and spider provides high value education and entertaining content for many years, and we give them the best care possible. However, these animals don’t live forever, and many of the residents in our current collection are over a decade old. We have baby arthropods we are excited about, but it will be a few years before they are old enough to safely attend educational events. We are always prepared for lots of babies with equipment and tiny feeder beetles, but we need to purchase some juvenile and young adult arthropods so we can continue our reputation of having world class science programs.

https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/hokiebugfest

02/18/2026

https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/hokiebugfest

Donations made to the Hokie BugFest Fund support far more than a single event! Throughout the year, our team of volunteers and bug zoo residents visit classrooms, afterschool programs, festivals, camps, and more. Why is this important? We want to make science fun and accessible. In 2025, we interacted with over 2,300 individuals at different venues in an effort to bring the science of entomology to the public. Those interactions allowed us to educate people about beneficial insects vs. pests, insects and their relatives, and the key roles that insects and arthropods play in our lives.


Images below from Hokie BugCamp (top left), McHarg Elementary's "Og the Frog" event (bottom left) and Kids' Tech University (right).

02/18/2026

Giving Day 2026 has arrived!

https://givingday.vt.edu/amb/hokiebugfest

In the next 24 hours, you’ll see countless posts asking for your help to raise money for a large variety of programs at Virginia Tech. We ask that you consider giving to the Hokie BugFest Fund. We use this fund to not only host Hokie BugFest each year, but also to provide for the residents of the Hokie BugZoo.

Hokie BugZoo residents are cared for with patience and kindness. These insects and arthropods help us educate the public about the exciting science of entomology. They’re rewarded with clean enclosures and the best food we can provide. This includes fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, high protein kibble, live prey, and more. In 2025, our arthropod zoo residents delighted over 2,300 people at outreach events — and that’s not even counting the 7,000 guests at Hokie BugFest!

If you’re able, please consider donating to assist us with continuing our mission to educate the public about the importance of these creatures!
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In the video, one of our Yellow-Banded pinktoe tarantulas (Avicularia Rufa) is climbing around her enclosure. Filmed by Micah Thomas, edited by Whitney Weaver Wright