My Itchy Fingers

This school holiday, three shopping centres had been invaded by all sorts of creepy crawlies and kids were seen screaming and running about…

But they were not screaming out of fear, rather, in excitement cos they were all having fun interacting and taking pictures with the huge models of insects.

Huge model of the Emperor Scorpion (Pandinus imperator) with tail
arching over its head, ready to strike when threatened

The Singapore Science Centre is reaching out to kids and adults by going to the shopping malls. The event, X-ploring Garden Crawlies, will allow participants to learn more about insects and other garden creatures.

See the Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) spinning and wrapping its prey!

Try your hands at moving the robotic spider

Besides these huge models, there were also some specimens of different kinds of bugs. Some of them were very colourful.

A flower beetle

The Weevil or Snout Beetle. This one, a Leptopiinae sp., is from New Guinea

Another weevil, Eupholus benetti, also from New Guinea

I forgot to take down the name for this one, but its shape is something
I have never seen before

A wasp of the Chlorion sp

A kinda beetle, Chrysochroa purpureiventris, is from Indonesia

It was a good move to bring the exhibition to the malls, judging from the response from people of all age group. But I thought it would be better if more local species were to be highlighted. Children were encouraged to visit the exhibits at all three malls and complete an activity booklet for a small gift. The last day for the event will be 11 June, so try to make a date with the bugs and discover more about these important creatures in the ecosystem!