Insect Festivals in North America: Patterns and Purposes

Human desire to interact with and learn about wildlife extends beyond charismatic megafauna. In the past two decades, insects have carved out a niche in the ecotourism sector. Entomotourism has emerged as a growing mainstream attraction for many tourists and insect enthusiasts alike (Lemelin 2015). This subsector of ecotourism encompasses a wide range of insect-related recreational activities, such as collection, educational or multimedia entertainment, and insect encounters in controlled environments, such as butterfly pavilions or insectariums (Lemelin 2013). Tourists all over the world may engage in activities such as photography, observation, entomophagy, and other forms of direct interaction with various types of insects. There are many explanations for this attention, including new technology (e.g., on-line chat groups and identification), the availability of digital images, and accessibility of new resources (e.g., field guides and insect organizations). Tourists are interested in insects for many reasons (Lemelin 2009). Some people love to see insects’ amazing color, behaviors, and unique features. Others like to see and photograph the spectacles of large congregations of insects. Some want to see rare species or to learn new things about insects. Still others want to learn about how insects can improve or maintain human well-being through pollination, food, and cultural heritage (Guiney and Oberhauser 2008, Durst et al. 2010, Yi et al. 2010). Many people like to learn about how indigenous peoples gained knowledge about or used insects (Hogue 1987, Huntly et al. 2005). Some people are even intrigued by the undesirable aspects of insects, such as crop consumption and biting humans (Kellert 1993, Huntly et al. 2005, Lockwood 2013). A particular form of insect recreation is the insect festival. More generally, festivals are events that celebrate a local phenomenon (Picard and Robinson 2006), and are known by many other names such as jamborees, fairs, and carnivals. Traditionally, festivals were often accompanied by religious rituals, agricultural goods, or cultural relics, but recently festivals have taken on a new form and function (Picard and Robinson 2006). As such, festivals accomplish many goals, such as enhancing the profile of a community, improving a sense of community in the local area, generating political interest to support local development, producing local economic impacts, offering local recreational opportunities, and conserving natural and cultural features (Hvenegaard 2011, Moscardo 2007). In particular, nature-based or wildlife festivals celebrate unique features of the natural environment. Around the world, communities offer festivals featuring insects, mammals, birds, fish, and insects, as well as plants, landforms, water, and the sky. There seems to be growing interest by communities in offering (and by tourists in attending) such wildlife festivals (Hvenegaard 2011). Most wildlife festivals are organized by volunteer groups, special interest organizations, or tourism agencies. Wildlife festivals are typically available to the public (Lawton and Weaver 2010) and last a short time (usually 1–7 days). Common wildlife festival activities include presentations, guided walks, children's activities, competitive events, and trade exhibitions (Hartley 2005). Thousands of people attend events that celebrate insects in communities and society at large. This has led to research efforts, especially in the non-Western world, to understand the dynamics of insect festivals such as the Hampyeon Butterfly Festival and Muju Lightning Bug Festival in Korea (Kim et al. 2008a, Kim et al. 2008b, Song and Chiang 2002). In North America, there is growing interest in insects for recreation, as a form of entertainment, community celebration, and wildlife watching. For example, thousands of people travel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park each May and June to watch synchronous fireflies display (Brown 2011), and more than 100,000 people participate in the annual Woollybear Festival in Vermillion, Ohio (Jeffers 2014). These examples demonstrate how popular some insects have become and how they can attract large numbers of people. There are just a few studies about the characteristics of insect festivals. First, Scott reports that participants at the BugFest (Cleveland, OH) were disproportionately female, white, married, 25–44 years of age, and new to the festival. Festival motivations were focused on nature appreciation, family togetherness, and curiosity. Second, Kim et al. (2008b) describe how the annual Hampyeon Butterfly Festival (South Korea) evolved since it started in 1999 (1,710 people attended in 2006), along with its economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts. Third, Hvenegaard et al. (2013) found 107 insect festivals around the world. Attendance ranged widely (high of > 100,000 people); most originated in the past 10 years, and the festivals occur during the northern hemisphere's non-winter months. Most festivals focused on all insects, but a few targeted taxonomic groups, especially butterflies and fireflies. Last, Lemelin (2007) places insect festivals in the larger context of insect tourism. In the same way that traditional wildlife tourism seeks to facilitate positive experiences between humans and wildlife, insect tourism provides a platform on which humans can learn about and gain firsthand experience interacting with insects, often dismantling the stigma that commonly surrounds the majority of arthropods. Entomotourism attracts people for a variety of reasons. It may capitalize on or combat pervasive entomophobia, or appeal to an individual's sense of the negative sublime, feelings that ultimately translate to fascination (Lockwood 2013). In all cases, however, entomotourism works to bridge the modern disconnect between humans and insects. Despite the growing understanding of insects in a leisure context, little is known about insect festivals in particular, especially in North America. The goal of this paper is to determine the scale of the insect festival industry in North America, to describe the basic characteristics and purposes of insect festivals, and offer strategies for managing the implications of those festivals for sustainability. We created an inventory of active insect festivals that had occurred between July 2014 and June 2015 in North America by conducting a web-based search. We started with the list compiled by Hvenegaard et al. (2013), to evaluate which North American festivals continued to be active. Then we searched for new or previously missed festivals by examining festival websites, news articles, press releases, and Facebook events. We also examined websites of wildlife, entomological, and conservation organizations, as well as environmental centers and tourism boards, for lists of additional festivals. We excluded festivals that only involved insects in the festival name or as only a small part of event activities. We gathered information about location (by state or province), timing (which month), length (number of days), history (number of years operating), attendance (number of people), activities offered (phrases to describe), fee structure (cost per person), discounts (adjustments to fees), and the focus of the festival (type of insect emphasized). We also coded each festival by major purpose (one primary purpose, and multiple secondary purposes). We stored this information on a spreadsheet, and then analyzed the data with SPSS version 21. The 2015 web-based search revealed 81 active insect festivals in North America. A variety of words were used to name the festivals, including fest, jamboree, fair, “insectival,” and insect day (or week). Since an original search in 2011 (Hvenegaard et al. 2013), 15 had been discontinued, two evolved into festivals that no longer primarily focus on insects, and two had evolved into stationary museum exhibits that now run year-round. We found history data for 72 festivals. Eighteen percent were 1–5 years old, 28% were 6–10 years old, 22% were 11–15 years old, 15% were 16–20 years old, 8% were 21–25 years old, 1% were 26–30 years old, and 7% were older than 31 years. The longest-running insect festival was the annual Woollybear Festival in Vermilion, Ohio, which started in 1972. Of the 81 festivals, 85% occur in the United States (17% in the midwest, 24% in the west, 12% in the northeast, and 32% in the south) and 15% occur in Canada (7% in the east, 6% in the west, and 1% which travel across the country). All of the insect festivals recorded occur annually. These festivals take place every month of the year except January and December. Three percent of the festivals occur in February, followed by 5% in March, 10% in April, 10% in May, 10% in June, 12% in July, 19% in August, 21% in September, 9% in October, and 1% in November. One festival (1%) was offered year-round. The mean number of days offered by the festivals was 1.5 (SD = 1.0, Range = 1-6). Seventy percent lasted one day, 20% for two days, 5% for three days, 3% for four days, and 3% for six days. Attendance varied widely. Of 33 festivals reporting attendance, 15% had 100-499 people, 6% had 500-999, 42% had 1,000-4,999, 15% had 5,000-9,999, 18% had 10,000-49,999, and 3% had 100,000 or more (which was the Woollybear Festival, with about 100,000 attendees). There were no festivals indicating an attendance less than 100. The festivals offered many different types of children's activities, such as crafts, face painting, puppet shows, and treasure hunts. Other activities and offerings to all age groups include guided walks, workshops, crafts, films, music, presentations, tagging, identification, pond dipping, insect cooking, demonstrations, and trade shows. Of the 67 festivals indicating a fee structure, 49% were free to everyone, 9% were free with admission to a larger attraction (e.g., local museum or environmental center), and 41% charged some type of admission (18% were $1–5 per adult, 15% were $6–10 per adult, and 8% were $11–15 per adult). Most festivals (33%) offered a discount for children, and there were examples of other discounts for senior citizens, veterans, and members of specific environmental, museum, or entomological organizations. A few festivals even offered unique discount opportunities. For example, in the past, the Bug Fest at Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in California has offered patrons a discount if they eat a “basic bug” and free admission if they eat a “super bug.” Economic impact was occasionally listed as an important output of the festival. Some websites indicated that the event or agency helped raise money for charity, was a fund raiser for the sponsoring agency, or supported jobs in the local area. The focus of these insect festivals varied considerably. Some festivals targeted insects in general, while other festivals targeted one group of insect. Of the 81 festivals, 49% focused on all insects, 31% focused on butterflies, 4% on dragonflies, 4% on honeybees, 3% on caterpillars, 3% on blackflies, and 1% each on butterflies and dragonflies together, fireflies, ants, ladybugs, cockroaches, and mosquitoes. About 32% of the festivals featured butterflies, with some targeting endangered species (e.g., 7% targeted the monarch butterfly). Such festivals raise awareness about these species through themed events, such as butterfly tagging, crafts, films, and nature walks. Additionally, some of the insect festivals capitalize on the common dislike of some insects (e.g., mosquitoes, blackflies, and cockroaches), and convert that disdain into a cause for celebration. For example, the purpose of the Adamant Black Fly Festival in Vermont is “to have some serious fun celebrating the bug we love to hate” (Freeman 2010). For 80 festivals, we found associations with funders or sponsors. Many were museums and service groups (19%), industry (19%), nature centers (14%), parks and conservation authorities (13%), zoos and botanic gardens (11%), municipalities (9%), and science groups (e.g., universities and colleges; 9%). These associations likely influenced the four main themes that emerged from the purposes of these insect festivals: education, entertainment, celebration, and entomophagy. Some of the festivals explicitly stated that one or more of these ideas was a purpose of the festival, while others gave more general descriptions, from which we inferred the specific purpose. In addition to these main purposes, a few festivals were also held as fundraisers for various nature centers or charities. Education alone was the purpose for 21% of the festivals, and was mentioned in combination with one or more other purposes for another 23% of the festivals. Festivals often incorporated education by way of lectures, crafts, nature walks, and live insect demonstrations. Many of these efforts were specifically aimed at children as a way to foster appreciation for, and knowledge of, insects from a young age. Many of these festivals stressed the importance of insects in various ecosystems and for human existence. For example, The Arizona Insect Festival (Tucson, AZ) provides opportunities to “learn about the importance of insects in our lives and discover insect-based research taking place.” In addition, the Palisade International Honeybee Festival (Palisade, CO) educates the public “about the world-wide crisis on colony collapse and to support a healthy honeybee population worldwide and its impact on agriculture in the Grand Valley, Colorado and the world.” The educational component of many of these festivals is often tied to insect or ecosystem conservation, which is rarely explicitly stated in the description of the festivals, but is typically implied through the variety of activities and opportunities to interact with and learn about insects provided by each festival. Entertainment was the sole purpose for 11% of festivals, but was a joint purpose for another 70% of festivals. For example, since 1984, the Insect Fear Film Festival (Urbana-Champaign, IL) screens insect-themed thriller films, and provides opportunities to handle live bugs and eat fried bugs during intermission. The Incredible World of Bugs, a travelling exhibit in Canada, seeks to “entertain, engage, and enlighten the general public about the strange and fascinating world of butterflies and insects.” The Insectival (Columbus, GA) allows visitors to “experience the world of insects through entertainment and interactive displays.” Celebration was the sole purpose for only 1% of festivals, but was a joint purpose for another 51% of festivals. For example, the intention of North Carolina's BugFest was “to celebrate creepy, crawly, six-legged creatures.” The Day of Insects (Ames, IA) “brings together and enthusiasts to and celebrate Last, while of was the sole purpose for only 1% of festivals, it was a purpose for another 12% of festivals. 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