Philly Museum Robbed of Rare Insects; People are Bugging

I, like many people, HATE bugs. And the bigger and gnarlier they are, the higher my terror level. So you can imagine the creepy-crawlies I’ve been experiencing since I learned that the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion was robbed of some 90 percent of its buggy exhibits. And now those bugs, which include deadly spiders, scorpions, and other things that crawl and lurk, are unaccounted for. It’s assumed that the specimens were stolen for resale (a whole bunch of bugs are apparently worth about $50,000!), but WHAT IF THEY ESCAPED? The possibilities are endless… and horrifying.

As of last weekend, the FBI had gotten involved in investigating the heist, which involved over 7,000 insects. We’re talking “several species” of tarantulas, cockroaches, and other venomous species. I’M NOT FREAKING OUT; YOU’RE FREAKING OUT. According to a museum rep, four employees have been laid off in conjunction with the bug caper. The thefts were carried out over several days in August. Eventually workers noticed the glaring absence of almost all their bugs and alerted police. They then turned to security camera footage. Apparently one fire-legged tarantula was recovered at an ex-employee’s home.

Per the Anchorage Daily News, the museum has been forced to close all but one floor of their exhibits due to the insect shortage. This is no small matter: per Dr. John Cambridge, the chief executive of the insectarium, “This is the largest living insect heist we’ve been able to find.” So this is a RECORD-SETTING CRITTER CAPER. I know I’m caps-spamming here, but words fail to describe my personal level of “yuck” at the moment.

As a light, pleasant side note, one of the stolen spiders is the most venomous species on earth. The six-eyed sand spider has a bite that could, on a human, rot 25 percent of the body. NOPE. NOPE. HARD NOPE.

There is a large amount of mystery still surrounding the heist. Here’s hoping that, with the Fibbies involved, we will get some answers soon.

BRB, going to take a decontamination shower to rid myself of the phantom spiders.