Bug Fest in North Aurora celebrates the creepy and crawly

With nets in hand, the bug-loving Byrnes brothers trio from Aurora were on a mission Saturday to catch as many insects to investigate as they could as they walked through the Blue Sky Prairie Trail near the Red Oak Nature Center in North Aurora during Bug Fest.

Oliver, 4, Zachary, 7, Benjamin, 9, and father David attended the event, which educates and celebrates insects of all kinds.

Six "Discovery Stations" along the Fox River Trail between the Red Oak Nature Center and Lippold Park featured different activities for kids to explore the world of insects. They could catch them with nets to observe for short periods of time, look at them under magnification, or even catch water bugs at Lippold Pond.

Signs filled with fascinating bug facts were posted between each station. One reads: "It is rumored that crickets can tell the outside temperature. Count the number of chirps it makes in 1 minute, divide by 4 and then add the number 40 to reach the outside temperature." Another mentioned that ants can lift 10 to 20 times their own body weight.

This was the third year the Byrnes family was attending the event.

"It's always something new every year, which makes it significant as a parent to see them discover something they've never seen before." said David Byrnes.

As Byrnes and his sons completed the Critter Capture activity, they were asked to help release bugs caught and temporarily displayed in containers. Zachary released a cicada he had caught a few minutes before. It buzzed as he picked it up and placed it on a log. "There you go, cicada," he said. Seconds later it flew into the trees. "Yay!"