Sergey Bykovsky, a master’s degree student from the Department of Ecology and Systematics of Invertebrates of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of VSU, opened an insectarium, a place where visitors can see live exotic insects and learn a lot about them.
Sergey believes it is more than just an exhibition. The insectarium displays various beetles, mantids, cockroaches, and stick insects, and besides looking, the visitors can also touch them and learn about these species during an interactive tour. Besides insects, the exhibition also displays spiders, millipedes, scorpions, etc. At the moment, the insectarium houses over 40 species, and their number is continuously growing. A butterfly garden is to be opened soon.
There is also a collection of close-up photos taken by Sergey Bykovsky, in which the insects can be seen in every detail. The interactive tour also includes working with a microscope and amusing games. Sergei also wants to organise popular science lectures at the insectarium, a cinema club with documentaries about nature, and an entomology club.
“I am an entomologist, I’ve always found insects interesting. I barely managed to keep this whole collection at home, and now a lot of people can see it. In the insectarium, I tried to create a comfortable environment for all the live insects. Visitors also find it very interesting, as I can tell them a lot about the insects,” said Sergey Bykovsky.
He also pays a lot of attention to the local nature. Sergey takes part in various events aimed at attracting public attention to invertebrates: organises exhibitions, takes part in science talk shows, and organises guided tours for the locals.
