Explore the amazing world of insects and spiders!
Bugs Alive! includes over 100 species of live insects and spiders, thousands of specimens from the museum's collection, giant models and exciting interactive exhibits.
Included with museum entry. MV Members receive FREE museum entry.
Hi Enis, Christmas Beetles feed on gum leaves and their chewing causes a characteristic zig-zag hole in the leaves. Young Christmas Beetles, called Curl Grubs, live in the soil and feed on plant roots and organic matter. You can feed adult beetles with small branches of gum leaves placed in a jar of water to keep them fresh. Spray the beetles with clean water once a day and change the gum when it no longer looks fresh.
Because of their different food needs, adult beetles and grubs are found in different habitats – gum trees for the adults and pasture for the grubs. They are therefore most common in suburban parklands or the edges of farmland.
Adult beetles have stout mouthparts but don’t bite, but their strong claws can get a firm grip on your hand if you let them.
Hello Carol,
The Discovery Centre has received many enquiries over the last few weeks about swarms of beetles in suburban gardens in and around Melbourne; they are Plague Soldier Beetles, Chauliognathus lugubris.
Take a look at our recent 'Question of the week blog' on these beetles to see if yours are the same please note that for homeowners who may be hosting huge numbers of this colourful species, don't be too concerned, following the mating swarm the beetles tend to disperse.
If these are not the same as the beetles at your house the Discovery Centre does offer an identification service
Before submitting your identification request, please read our guidelines for using our identification service.
Follow this link to our on-line form and scroll to the end to submit identification requests photographs are compulsory.
Hi Alex, thank you for your offer of centipedes. A centipede display currently exists in Bugs Alive, in the section that deals with venoms (opposite the screen playing bug horror movies). We also have Ethmostigmus rubripes in our collection but, as we have only one place to display centipedes, this species rotates on display with species of desert centipedes.
We went to see the Mesopotamia exhibition and were really impressed with the extensive range of amazing artifacts, the stories of how they were recovered and tr...
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What do you guys feed your giant burrowing roaches and are they handable for educational purposes?
