A Show of Flyers, Creepers and Crawlers

The annual Insect Fair at the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum is not for sissy families--not with Ayres Hall filled with live scorpions and tarantulas. But for the stout of heart, the bug show can be great fun as well as educational.

A splendid mix of dead insects and live ones, members of the Los Angeles Lorquin Entomological Society will have their prize specimens on hand--and sometimes in hand.

Not limited to just insects, the show includes “related flying and crawling creatures.” There will be the butterflies-from-around-the-world boxes, a live honey bee colony, an exhibit on live spiders of Los Angeles and scorpions and centipedes from around the world.

Kids (and adults) can learn how insect collectors categorize and display their specimens, with the collectors ready and willing to answer the nitty-gritty questions that kids pose, such as “How do you kill them?” Projects and pictures from local schools will be on display, and experts from the Health Department, Mosquito Abatement and Vector Control will be available for discussions.

For kids bitten by the “bug” bug, equipment and books to start them collecting will be on sale.

The arboretum is at 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Park hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Show hours are 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Admission for both is $3 for adults; $1.50 for college students with ID and for ages 13-17; 75 cents for ages 5-12; 4 and under free. Call (818) 446-8251.