Meet Chicago’s ‘Bug Girl’. Its superpower is to educate and empower

CHICAGO — Janelle Iaccino is known as Chicago’s “bug girl.”

Iacicino’s love of animals and insects dates back to when, as a teenager, she adopted a pet tarantula and took a job as a phone answerer at Rose Pest Solutions. Nineteen years later, she is the marketing director of Rose Pest Solutions, a taxidermist, an artist, responsible for girls’ STEM education and arguably the most popular volunteer at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

“I love the challenge of breaking down those barriers of fear,” she said. “Once you educate yourself on what something is, you get that empowerment and that’s really the magic.. … As human beings, we are meant to interact with the earth and all its creatures.

More from Janelle at https://www.janelleiaccino.com/

Iaccino encourages young women to explore careers in entomology and environmental science through her blog and encourages others to “embrace your weirdness.”

“I want to encourage children to be in touch with all the life around us because there is nothing more rewarding than understanding this symbiosis and understanding our place in the world,” she said.