If you can’t tell the difference between a camel cricket and a brown banded cockroach, you should attend Belmont’s Bug Camp. Children who take part in the camp have never met a bug they didn’t love. “Her name is Mirtha and it’s a giant Madagascar hissing cockroach,” said Dr. Steve Murphree, an entomology professor at Belmont University. At the Beetles, Bugs and Butterflies Camp, a cockroach’s hiss is as sweet as a kiss. “She’s a great pet, not too bad, and she’s easy to take care of. She’s a nice cockroach,” Murphree said. Murphree is Belmont’s bug guy. He has been an educator for 25 years. His message that bugs aren’t bad is working, especially with kids. “Like teenaged mutant turtles, these are actually creatures that do unusual things,” he said.
