She briskly wheels the small, gray cart down the narrow hallway. The wisps of long black hair straying from the loose bun at the nape of her neck, her wrinkled navy blue polo shirt and her dirt-streaked khaki pants indicate a busy work day. Almost time to go home, but first things first.

It’s dinner time, and her residents are no doubt anticipating the ripe fruits and vegetables resting on her cart. She stops, unlocks a panel door, climbs up a three-step ladder and gingerly drops chunks of apples, romaine lettuce and fish flakes to the scavengers waiting below. Room service! The black, almond-sized Darkling Beetles immediately scurry over logs and through sand to eat their dinner, their antennae quivering like newly busted guitar strings, their six legs moving as fast as they can.

She pushes the cart toward the next destination and after unlocking another panel door and grabbing some scissors, she diligently cuts up the contents of a white plastic cup and dumps them onto the surface of the water. The chopped-up meal worms and frozen crickets are a delicacy for the Sunburst Diving Beetles, native of Arizona, resident of “a desert wetland,” who like to munch on the squishy insides. Their two red, feather-like flippers move back and forth like oars, propelling them through the water toward the tasty treat.

The smell of earth and moisture permeates the air, and the chirping of crickets blends with a sound like a metal zipper running its course. She moves onto some of her other dependents: Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches the size of large potato chips. A sign near the bottom of their tank reads “Please don’t tap on the glass—it bugs us,” reminding visitors of all ages that the tenants like their peace and quiet. She grabs a plastic bottle from the cart and squirts them with a fine mist of water.

She is 26-year-old entomologist Erin Sullivan, these critters are her babies, and Woodland Park Zoo’s “Bug” World is her home away from home.

Behind the scenes in the prep room, rows of tanks filled with every creepy crawly imaginable line the walls. One tank, labeled “Horse Lubbers,” will be one of the newest additions to “Bug” World. The creatures inside look like overgrown black grasshoppers with bright orange and yellow freckles.

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