Out of Philadelphia, roughly around 7,000 insects were stolen from a butterfly pavilion/insectarium! The heist was believed to have happened from an insider orchestrating it. The owner, John Cambridge, holds his employees responsible. Amongst the insects stolen were venonmous spiders, scorpions, and other creepy crawlers. In total, the amount of insects stolen is estimated to be worth $50,000.
The Philadelphia Butterfly Pavilion and Insectarium started a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to regrow their collection of insects. According to the owner, Cambridge, his security cameras showed at least 5 employees that were engaged in stealing the insects. The cameras picked up on them placing the bugs in their cars. Apparently there is a black market for "exotic pets" or insects in this case and Cambridge thinks that unfortunately some of the insects are probably already sold.
A little more about the Philadelphia Butterfly Pavilion and Insectarium:
If you want to donate to Philadelpia's Butterfly Pavilion and Insectarium's Go Fund Me Page, you can do so, HERE!
Hopefully they get back up on their feet again soon and it looks like they are well on their way!
-Producer Lightning