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Come see the bizarre, bad, and beneficial of the insect world.

The event will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Stocking Hall, Ithaca - NY.

Join us for the annual, one-day Insect Festival hosted by the Department of Entomology at Cornell University. Insectapalooza is an interactive, hands-on experience that features hundreds of live insects, spiders, and other fascinating arthropods. Popular favorites include the Arthropod Zoo and live specimens. Exhibits explore the extraordinary Cornell University Insect Collection, pollination, plant-insect interactions, biodiversity of ants, bees, and soil insects, and how bugs work. Learn how to combat arthropod pests like the spotted lantern fly, ticks, and mosquitos. There are short workshops on careers in entomology, beekeeping, pollinator gardens, and reducing the impacts of lantern flies and ticks. Numerous kid-friendly crafts. And much, much more.

Insectapalooza is fun and educational for children, teens and adults of all ages. Insectapalooza reflects the countless wonderful ways that insects interact with people and impact our lives — for better or for worse.

 

Sponsor Insectapalooza

If you wish to become a sponsor for Insectapalooza please contact jmr65 [at] cornell.edu (Janette Robbins). Sponsors will be listed on this website, as well as in a brochure given to all attendees.

 

Acknowledgements 

The LePatner Family – we are thankful for your generous support and sponsorship of Insectapalooza since 2024!

Interested in volunteering?

Please contact nm695 [at] cornell.edu (Nadia Martins)

Schedule of Events

A large brown beetle on a hand

9:30 PM - The Butterflies around us

Speaker: Portia Wong
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

9:30 PM - How to describe new species

Speaker: Jason Dombroskie
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

10:00 AM - Careers in Entomology

Learn more about careers in Entomology. 

Speaker: Cole Gilbert
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

10:00 AM - Spotted Lanternflies: "Honeydew not eat my grapes!”

Speaker: Kyle Bekelja 
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

10:30 AM - Insect Apocalypse

Speaker: Laura Melissa Guzman
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

10:30 AM -Amazing Ants: Helpers, Pests, and Tiny Superheroes

Speaker: Alejandro Calixto
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

11:00 AM - Project Ground-Nesting Bees!

Speaker: Jordan Kueneman
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

11:00 AM - Aquatic Insects: life underwater

Speaker: John Sanderson
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

11:30 AM - Built to Battle: Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Insect Weapons

Speaker: Ummat Samjee
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

11:30 AM - How to distinguish the major insect orders

Speaker: Jason Dombroskie
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

12:00 PM - Tricking Treacherous Ticks

Speaker: Joellen Lampman 
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

12:00 - Why not eat insects?

Speaker:  Brent Sinclair
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

12:30 PM - A Tale of Three Bees: the biology, importance, and conservation of solitary bees

Speaker: Bryan Danforth
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

12:30 PM - NEWA: Using Tech to Tame Insect Risks

Speaker: Dan Olmstead
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

1:00 PM - Plants vs. Zombies

Speaker: Sujay Paranjape
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

1:00PM - Insect defenses

Speaker:  Brandon Yoon
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

1:30 PM - Frozen Bugs: what do insects do over the winter

Speaker:  Brent Sinclair
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

1:30 PM - Insects and Contemporary Art

Speaker: Carol Hockett
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

2:00 PM - Scorpions!

Speaker: Collin Clary, Sean Kim
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

2:00 PM - Insect Apocalypse

Speaker: Laura Melissa Guzman
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

2:30 PM - Become a Bug Detective with iMapInvasives: Helping Scientists Track Invasive Species

Speaker: Jennifer Dean
Location: 201 Stocking Hall

2:30 PM - Careers in Entomology

Speaker: Cole Gilbert
Location: 202 Stocking Hall

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