Many insects are sturdy and require low maintenance. Would it not be great for schools, universities and clubs to host an Insectarium of local bugs?

Kids will surely have fun taking turns to maintain the insects clean and healthy. While teachers may encourage the study of the role played by insects in local environment.

The easiest species of insects to keep are various species of cockroaches such as the Madagascar hissing cockroaches, Gromphadorhina portentosa. They will readily take various fruits and vegetables such as squash, cucumber, pumpkin, lettuce, tomato, potato, apple, oranges, strawberries, bananas, etc as well as dry dog or cat food. All they need is a suitable container such as an aquarium or Tupperware like box with a lid. We can use petroleum jelly around the lip to keep them from climbing out and supply them with cardboard egg cartons as hiding places.

Pillbugs and sowbugs, which are crustaceans not insects, are similar to insects in regards to feeding but also require leaf litter from hardwood trees and moist substrate (potting soil works best) in their enclosure. 

As for predatory species, spiders that don’t produce webs are easy to care for. These include tarantulas, jumping spiders and wolf spiders. Tarantulas live the longest and require a substrate such as vermiculite or coco fiber (both are sterile) or potting soil plus a hiding place (a piece of ceramic or clay pot on its side works). A bottle cap with gravel makes a good water dish. Keep in mind that spiders are arachnids and not insects.

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