Long Island Aquarium Opens New Exhibit

The Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead recently announced that they have opened a new exhibit, Bugs, within the Exhibition Center.

The exhibit features the largest assortment of living bugs in New York and one of the most diverse in North America, including a large variety of ants, spiders, beetles and other bugs found around the world.

A part of the Butterflies, Bugs and Birds exhibit, there are three components to the new collection.

The first includes Leafcutter ants and shows guests how these small but mighty insects live together in the tropical rainforests of South America.

The “Bug Bungalow” showcases some amazing tropical insects, including the Giant Orbweaving Spider, Leaf Insects, Grasshoppers and more.

The final section features “Venomous, Jewels and Giants,” some of the most venomous, most beautiful and largest insects and spiders in the world.

The “Venomous” collection includes feared favorites like the Black Widow and the Brazilian Wandering Spider, the deadliest spider in the world.

“Jewels” feature insects that have brilliant colors and elegant forms, including gem colored Stag Beetles and Orchid Mantises.

“Giants” contain creatures like the Hercules Beetle, one of the largest and strongest insects in the world and giant stick insects.

Sponsored by Suburban Exterminating, this new exhibit offers guests a look at some of the most amazing and bizarre insects in the world.

“It is important that people understand that insects are animals and the vast majority of them serve important functions in the natural world. Without them, life as we know it, could not exists,” Jeffry Petracca, Exhibit Entomologist, said

The Exhibition Center, featuring the Butterflies, Bugs and Birds exhibit is included with aquarium admission and will be opened daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.