Tuning into beetle mania

Leaf insects are masters of disguise. Cactus longhorns are food specialists, surviving solely on cactus. The desert ironclad beetle plays dead when startled.

- Sonia Nazareth

These are just some of the varied insects, critical to life on Earth, that one may encounter and come to appreciate at the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This stellar museum underwent a $41-million redesign and reopened in 2023. As one journeys through the insectarium, entomologists help one experience insects through all five senses.

The sense of sight is deployed in the viewing of live specimens in glass chambers, where one can observe body shapes and behaviours.