Like Alice in Wonderland, did you know you can see the insects at the Saint Louis Zoo from the other side of the glass? You can! It’s actually one of about 20 behind-the-scenes tours you can take there, where you spend time with the keepers and, in some cases, even get to touch the animals.

“Whether you are going out of your comfort zone to learn something new and maybe get some hands-on experience or you’re super stoked about one thing in particular,” says Rebecca Gann, Invertebrate Keeper, Saint Louis Zoo Insectarium, “Hopefully  you’re expecting to see some creepy crawlies.”

The Insectarium tour is called “Planet Protectors” and gives guests a chance to see some of the smallest animals on the planet…although some are a bit bigger than you might think, like the Asian millipedes, which can grow to more than six-inches long.

“They’re a pretty impressive species,” Gann explains. “They’re pretty large, pretty long. These are a poisonous species. So I like to say that because it freaks people out a little bit. But then I remind them that there’s a difference between poisonous and venomous. And these guys are a great example of poisonous because if I eat them, it’ll hurt me. If something is venomous, it will bite me. It hurt me. So as long as I don’t bite this, we’re okay.”

And of course, what tour of bugs would be complete without spiders!

 “I always end on that when I do a tour just because usually by then people, we’ve worked our way up to spiders.” Says Gann. “A lot of people get a little bit scared, but these guys are my favorite.”

My favorite thing about our tours is that we can kind of cater them to your interests. So if you’re looking for a gateway bug, you’ve got your cute little bugs that we’re learning to handle, that kind of thing. Or if you have a super mega interest in beetles, I can show you every beetle. You can pull ’em all out, that kind of thing. So that’s really cool.”

To book this or any of the behind-the-scenes tours at the Saint Louis Zoo, visit the zoo’s website at https://stlzoo.org/visit/behind-the-scenes-tours/animal-tours.