Rosie, the Chilean Rose Hair tarantula, was bugging Kiara Peters Saturday and the Loveland residents couldn’t get enough.
“I love tarantulas so much,” said Peters, who stood in line inside Westminster’s Butterfly Pavilion to just let Rosie scuttle onto her hand for a few minutes.
“She is so cute, and I just love her,” said Peters, who finds the multi-legged Rosie irresistible. “Maybe it’s those eight legs. I just can’t get enough.”
Rosie has been part of the Butterfly Pavilion’s family for nearly 30 years. She and Goldie – a Chaco Golden Knee tarantula – along with other spiders, scorpions and millipedes are taking centerstage this weekend during the Butterfly Pavilion’s “Insectival: 30th anniversary “Bug Bash.”
The epic festival honors the varied and unsung world of invertebrates, or animals without backbones, say organizers.
“This is essentially a festival of life,” said Ryan Welch, the pavilion’s new president and CEO. “We want the public to have fun but also get educated on how these animals are essentially the foundation of life.”
The festival was expected to draw 3,000 people to enjoy live music, face painting, immersive exhibits, educational workshops, a marketplace and firsthand animal encounters, said Butterfly Pavilion spokeswoman Jennifer Quermann. Festival-goers also got to see butterfly releases and cockroach races, Quermann said.
Amidst the fun, Quermann and others want to drive home the point that creepy crawlies like Rosie keep humanity alive.
“While people are here, we want to show people that these are animals we need to survive,” she said.
On Monday, Gov. Jared Polis issued a proclamation honoring invertebrates and the work of the Butterfly Pavilion.
“…Butterfly Pavilion has inspired millions in Colorado and around the world through hands-on learning, scientific innovation, global partnerships that protect invertebrates and the ecosystem they sustain…” the proclamation states.
Invertebrates are the earth’s “tiny heroes” who make up more than 97% or all animal species and are essential to life on earth, states the pavilion. From pollinating crops to cleaning waterways, insects pollinate crops and clean waterways, supporting entire ecosystems, Quermann said in a news release.
But habitat loss, pollution and climate change are causing invertebrates to disappear at an alarming rate. If bugs completely exit the earth, people won’t be far behind.
“If invertebrates were to completely disappear, we (humans) would not last very long,” Quermann said. “But if we disappeared, invertebrates would continue on.”
Crawling for 30 years
The Bug Bash will also spotlight the efforts of the Butterfly Pavilion to fight for invertebrates during the facility’s 30-year history, she said. This effort has been through conservation science, public education and groundbreaking research.
Insectival, Quermann said, is a “movement, inviting the community to honor three decades of impact and join the fight for our planet’s smallest, mightiest animals. “
Bug Bash goes until 7 p.m. Saturday at the Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Avenue, Westminster. It continues Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.