Hokie BugCamp returns this month

Hokie BugCamp will return for a seventh season on Friday and Saturday, July 30 and 31, from 10 a.m. until noon at Heritage Park, 2300 Glade Road in Blacksburg.

All CDC and local COVID-19 guidelines will be followed to keep campers and volunteers safe. An outdoor bug hunt will combine with take-home Hokie BugBoxes.

Budding entymologists ages 9-13 years will get hands-on experience collecting, identifying, handling, and pinning a wide variety of insects with Virginia Tech graduate students, faculty, and staff in the woods and open areas of Heritage Park.

Entomology activity kits will be available for campers to extend their bug study and build their own insect collections at home.

The fun activities at the 2021 Hokie BugCamp will include the following:

1. Hands-on collecting: With nets in hand, young entomologists will learn how to collect and identify insects, where to look for hard-to-find critters, and how to scoop and transfer specimens.
2. Insect pinning and ID: Once collecting jars are full, campers will learn how to pin, label, and display their insects as they begin to build their own collections.
3. Learning from the experts: Virginia Tech graduate students, faculty, and staff will be on hand to help these budding entomologists hone their skills.
4. Summer scavenger hunt: While on their bug hunt, campers (and younger siblings) will be challenged to find a list of the region’s most common summer critters.
5. Insect trading post: A chance for campers to share what they find and trade with others to build variety in what they take home. Additional specimens from the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology will be on hand for observation or trade as well.
6. Hokie BugBoxes: Take-home entomology kits will be available for purchase ($60 ea.). Each box includes a camp shirt plus everything campers need to continue their study and build their own insect collections at home (collecting net, viewing jar, ID guides, pining supplies, display box, and access to special online activities).
7. An Insect Collection Contest: Campers will be invited to continue building their collections through the summer and enter them in the Insect Collection Contest at Hokie BugFest this fall. (Collections from previous years will be on display.)

Hokie BugCamp is sponsored by the Virginia Tech Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs, and Virginia Cooperative Extension 4-H.