My name is Nadia, and I’m the proud owner of Bugs on Wheels!
Ever since I was young, I’ve had an interest and fascination with bugs. My mom would give me leftover pickle and peanut butter jars to use as containers, and I would fill them with different creatures so that I could study them more closely. At the age of 12, my grandma, who was a grade school teacher at the time, helped me convince my parents to let me have my first pet tarantula (thanks Granny B!). After that, my passion for the less loved creatures of the world only grew bigger.
Believing that my love for insects and other such creatures would never really lead me down a successful career path, I never went to school to pursue that passion. However, over the years I would fill my time scouring over books and blogs and watching documentaries to learn more about these fascinating mini monsters. One summer, I spent some time volunteering at the Michigan State University’s Entomology Department, which included helping run their summer bug camp for kids.
Fast forward to today, and I am married to a firefighter paramedic and am the mother of 4 beautiful wildflowers. Nature walks and scavenger hunts are a staple in our family, and I’ve loved using them to teach my own girls how wonderful and fascinating that bugs can be while teaching them the importance of respecting them. Many people are afraid of bugs, but I believe that it’s easy to fear things that you don’t understand. My goal with Bugs on Wheels is to share my passion with more children and adults, so that they can better understand and appreciate how amazing, important, and not-so-scary that they are.
– Nadia, aka “The Bug Lady”