Make your way through four zones dedicated to some of the most diverse and fascinating invertebrates in the world. You’ll come face-to-face with millipedes, beetles, stick insects, and our leaf-cutting ant colony.
Welcome to Comstock tropical house where you’ll come face-to-face with millipedes, beetles and our leaf-cutting ant colony.
Zone 1
The forest floor
In this zone, you’ll encounter some of the insects that dwell in the dark and damp habitats of the forest floor. These insects play an important role in recycling organic matter and enriching the soil.
Millipede
“Millipede” means “Thousand Legs,” but they rarely have that many - in fact, the first millipede to have more than 1000 legs was only found In 2020!
Centipedes
No Centipede has exactly 100 legs; they have between 15 and 191 pairs of legs, but the number of pairs is always an odd number!
Isopods
Isopods are cousins of crabs and shrimp. The giant isopod grows up to 16 inches!
Stick insects
Now you see them… Stick insects are the insect world’s masters of camouflage. They can blend in perfectly with their surroundings.
Stick Insects
Stick insects can regenerate limbs.
Some stick insects can reproduce without males.
Measuring up to 64cm, Phryganistria chinensis Zhao is the longest insect in the world!
Leaf cutting ants
Our leaf cutting ant colony really showcases these tiny gardeners of the natural world. Learn about the complex social structure of the colony and their role in the rainforest ecosystem.
Leaf cutting ants
Leafcutter ants travel up to 100 metres to collect leaves. A single leafcutter ant can carry 50 times its own weight!
Beetles
Beetles are the most diverse order of insects. With over 400,000 documented species, no zoo could display them all. But we have some of the most unique and fascinating species for you to learn about.
One out of every four animals on Earth is a Beetle!
Beetles
The Palmetto Beetle, a type of Tortoise Beetle, can withstand a pulling force that is equivalent to 148 times its body mass — comparable to a human withstanding a pull of 23,000 pounds!
Our other tropical houses
Kirby
tropical house
Includes our ‘Introduction to Invertebrates’ and ‘Night Zone’ exhibits.
Do you have a curiosity for the small and the strange? Then you will love The Bug Parc, where you can get up close and personal with some of the most fascinating minibeasts on Earth.
This is an amazing place - came here with my daughter and really enjoyed looking at all the bugs, especially the very busy ants! Paid extra for a bug-handling session - well worth it - the lad running it was...
Went with my 3 year old grandson, loved the outside play area and all the insects. Stools provided in all the bug houses so they could see into the terrariums. A good 2 hours spent and a fab cafe with one of...
Really good place to visit! Came with a 5 year old, they loved it, there were various activities as well as all the insects. And it wasn't too expensive. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, and the ca...
What a unique place. A really lovely few hours for me and my 3 year old. Special thank you to Fenn for the bug handling experience he was brilliant. We plan to go back again in the summer. Considering the co...