Hi everyone! My name is Bella, but many of you know me as the Big Bug Girl!

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by insects. I loved looking in my family's garden for ladybugs, rollie pollies, caterpillars, and praying mantises. For Halloween, I would dress up as exotic insects — being a ladybug was a recurring costume. I would beg my grandmother to take me to the museum to see our local butterfly pavilion, and I enjoyed looking at all of the pinned insects in the arthropod exhibit. Instead of playing with barbies, I played with my insect stuffed animals and pretended to be the owner of a bug zoo. I was just a girl, big on loving bugs. You get the idea.

I started documenting my relationships with my mantises online, and I was shocked when my videos went viral. What started as a casual Instagram account turned into a full-blown platform about insects. The focus of my content is to broaden the perspectives of users who may fear insects or hate them; instead, I hope to show how invaluable these creepy crawlies are to us and the environment. All of my bugs have different personalities, quirks, and unique bonds with me, regardless of their size. 

As I share my bug journey with the world, I have come to realize that the entomology and insect community is a male-dominated field. I only know a few insect and arachnid creators who do not identify as male. As a result, many of the brands out there cater to men. How many times have you seen gory graphic tees of insects eating each other? Or cockroach beef-cut tanks? 

I searched high and low for cute apparel that showed my love for insects while also matching my aesthetic. Then, I thought to myself, what if I made my own apparel? And shared it with you?