Halloween is a time to celebrate our fears. Let’s face it — many of us find insects, well … creepy. That makes Halloween the perfect time to study insects and other creepy-crawlies with kids. And while the little ones are fascinated by bugs on any given day, nature gives them a special treat by dressing quite a lot of insects in the colors of Halloween:  black and orange.

Having a Halloween party? Send the kids on a Halloween insect hunt and vote for categories like: Best Black and Orange, Creepiest Critter, Cutest Critter, Best Costume, Best Punk Costume, Best Alien Mask (take a close look), Tiniest Trick-or-Treater, and any other category you can think of! While a fun exercise, it also helps kids learn to pay closer attention to the tiny details of our critter friends, like an entomoligist does.

Which of these would you vote for?

Black Dash, Euphyes conspicua

Harlequin Cabbage Beetle, Murgantia histronica

Milkweed Bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus

Gold Moth Caterpillar, Basilodes pepita

Fruit fly of some variety on a fig tree

Murch Monarch, Danaus plexippus released at Murch Elementary School

Parasitic wasp eggs on Eastern Swallowtail Caterpillar, Papilio glaucus

First instar of the Black Swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio polyxenes

Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus

To view more bugs in black and orange, visit Mike Raupp’s great blog, “Bug of the Week” at http://bugoftheweek.com.