Natural world
Ask a person to describe a living animal and they will probably tell you about something large and furry. But did you know that over 95% of all animal species known to science are smaller than your thumb? Most of these species are ‘arthropods’ - invertebrate animals with a segmented body, external skeleton and jointed limbs.
In World Museum Liverpool’s Bug House you can get closer than you ever dreamed possible to three really successful arthropod groups; the insects, such as beetles and flies; the arachnids, which include spiders and scorpions, and the myriapods, such as centipedes and millipedes.
Avril, the giant animatronic spider
The Bug House is unique in the UK in combining thousands of specimens from the museum's vast research collection with real live colonies of arthropods in vivariums, including leaf cutter ants and bees.
World Museum Liverpool has more than one million invertebrate specimens in its collections. 18,000 specimens will be accessible to visitors in 350 drawers in the Bug House and adjacent Natural History Centre. Visitors will also have a chance to see the rest of the museum's insect collections during special tours behind the scenes.
These are supported by a range of interactive displays and larger-than-life models, including a 2 metre animatronic fly and Avril the giant spider, who welcomes visitors from her web on the ceiling.
Roam around the different rooms in the Bug House using the following links to discover the secret tiny creatures and amazing relationships that exist all around you in familiar settings.
If you like the Bug House why not decorate your desktop with a spider, ladybird or larva wallpaper design.
Interactive insect radio
Animatronic fly, insect radio and animatronic spider photographs © Leila Romaya & Paul McCann.