ATHOL – Children of all ages gathered at Alan E. Rich Environmental Park in Athol Tuesday to take part in an insect safari, led by Bryan Man, a.k.a. Professor Bugman.

The professor said he has been leading these kinds of safaris, as well as other events, since late 2022.

“The entire point of this is to get kids interested in entomology,” he said.

Man held two safaris Tuesday, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Professor Bugman distributed nets and jars to everyone, along with instructions on how to use the equipment. He also provided a primer on how to treat any bugs they found in their nets. Most important among the lessons was to handle specimens gently and try and make sure they were returned to the kind of plant from which they came, and to never drop them into the water.

“An insect might do well on one species of plant and not so well on another,” he said.

The youngsters came across all sorts of insects during the safari. These included various species of beetles, as well as katydids, caterpillars, spiders and other specimens. Professor Bugman got a lot of questions from the kids – as well as the adults – as they wandered Rich Park.

The insect safaris were sponsored by Athol Public Library with support from the Athol Cultural Council.

Man holds a masters degree in entomology from North Carolina State University and a masters in education from Fitchburg State University.

“The founding principle of this is to merge those two worlds together,” he added. “To take all the content knowledge and enthusiasm I got from hardcore science and the science and pedagogy of teaching and merge them into one.”

Man said he was spurred to action, in part, by what is known as the Insect Apocalypse, which stems from a 2017 study that found insect populations had decreased by 75% in 30 years.

“We are losing arthropods,” he said. “We’re facing up to 90% extinction is some places. These creatures are dying fast, and they make up 80% to 90% of our biodiversity. The problem is, most of the attention we give them is negative, and part of that starts at these early ages.”

Man said the initial reaction to bugs in western society is “fear and avoidance and hatred. That can just as easily turn into excitement, curiosity and engagement, as in other parts of the world. Countries like Japan have an incredible arthropod and entomology culture to them.”

The best way to change the prevailing attitude toward insects, said Man, is to create positive experiences between children and bugs.

“Videos are fine,” he said, “but there is no true substitute for actually being able to hold something in your hand.”

Interestingly, when asked if he has been fascinated by insects since he was a child, he responded, “Definitely not. I actually hated them when I was a kid. You watch kids be obsessed over dinosaurs….but there’s just nobody rooting for the arthropods out there.”

Man said he became interested in insects because of a video game.

“It was StarCraft,” he said. “It had arthropod-inspired monsters. This was in high school. It got me into ants and social insects, and that’s actually what I initially went to college for, but I came to realize all arthropods are really cool.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.