VIDEO: Spotting Invasive Pests

Some bugs are worse than others. A new interactive display at Insectropolis bug museum aims to teach children some of the more devastating local ones, called "invasive pests."

Often when some of these insects, such as the Asian long-horned beetle, are spotted, they pose such a threat to local ecosystems that state DEP or Department of Agriculture will come out to run tests and try to manage the threat.

State Agriculture Secretary Douglas Fischer said an important part of this process is having a knowledgeable public able to identify these species.

And in the war against invasive insects, children are on the frontlines helping to identify pests.

That's because, as Insectropolis owner Chris Koerner points out, kids like bugs.

Educating via a video game made sense, Koerner said. He used a New Jersey software developer to create a game that would teach about different harmful invasive species, so that the player could walk away knowing how to identify them. The game kiosk is a makeshift tree trunk, in the "pests" section of the Insectropolis bug museum.

Fischer came out to applaud the work of Insectropolis yesterday. The museum is at 1761 Route 9 in Toms River, (732) 349-7090.