Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Insect Keeper

🎯 Role Definition

The Insect Keeper is responsible for the daily care, husbandry, health monitoring, breeding, and exhibit presentation of live invertebrates across a range of taxa (insects, arachnids, myriapods and related arthropods). This hands‑on role blends animal care, collection management, exhibit maintenance, public engagement and scientific support. The ideal candidate combines practical husbandry skills with strong observation, recordkeeping, biosecurity awareness and safe handling practices to maintain healthy, thriving populations and high-quality visitor experiences.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Animal Care Assistant / Zookeeper Trainee
Entomology Laboratory Technician or Research Assistant
Horticulture or Exhibit Maintenance Technician with insect exposure

Advancement To:

Senior Insect Keeper / Lead Invertebrate Keeper
Curator of Invertebrates or Collections Manager
Conservation Program Coordinator or Research Associate

Lateral Moves:

Education & Interpretation Officer (public programs)
Animal Health Technician / Veterinary Assistant (exotics)
Facility Operations or Exhibit Design Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Provide daily husbandry for a diverse collection of invertebrates by preparing and delivering species-appropriate diets, monitoring feeding behavior, and adjusting nutritional plans to support breeding and animal welfare objectives.
Manage breeding and propagation programs for target species, including setting up controlled environmental conditions, pairing or grouping individuals, monitoring reproductive behavior, and maintaining detailed breeding logs to support conservation or display goals.
Maintain stable microclimates within enclosures by calibrating and monitoring temperature, humidity, lighting cycles, substrate and ventilation systems to match each species’ natural requirements and life stages.
Conduct routine health assessments and behavioral observations of specimens to identify signs of disease, stress, injury or abnormal behavior; coordinate with veterinarians and senior staff to implement treatment, quarantine or euthanasia protocols when necessary.
Implement and enforce strict biosecurity and quarantine procedures for new acquisitions, field-collected specimens, and returned loan items to prevent disease transmission and maintain collection integrity.
Design, construct and maintain secure, species-specific enclosures and exhibit habitats using appropriate materials, climbing structures, hides, substrates and foliage while ensuring visitor safety and durability of displays.
Oversee the safe handling, restraint and transport of live invertebrates for veterinary care, husbandry tasks, outreach, research, or inter-institutional transfers, following institution protocols and local regulations.
Maintain meticulous, searchable records of individual animals and colonies including provenance, life history events, feeding regimes, treatments, growth metrics and disposition using digital databases or collection management systems.
Prepare and preserve voucher specimens, wet collections or pinned entomological samples for scientific reference, taxonomic verification and educational displays, ensuring proper labeling and data capture.
Coordinate and participate in public-facing programs such as feeding demonstrations, keeper talks, guided tours and school outreach, delivering clear, engaging educational content tailored to diverse audiences.
Conduct routine cleaning, sanitation and pest control of exhibit spaces and satellite husbandry areas, using approved disinfectants and methods that are safe for invertebrates and staff.
Order, inventory and manage husbandry supplies, live prey cultures, substrates and equipment; maintain cost awareness and recommend budgeting needs for colony expansion, exhibit upgrades, and research support.
Participate in specimen collection or fieldwork as required, following permit conditions and ethically sourcing wild specimens for breeding, research or genetic diversity enhancement.
Contribute to research projects by collecting behavioral, ecological and husbandry data, assisting with experimental set-ups, and ensuring data integrity for scientific publications or conservation programs.
Train and supervise volunteer keepers, seasonal staff and interns in species-specific husbandry, safe handling protocols, record keeping and public engagement best practices.
Ensure compliance with institutional policies and external regulations (e.g., permits, CITES, animal welfare legislation) for acquisition, transport and display of invertebrates.
Implement enrichment programs to encourage natural behaviors and improve welfare outcomes through environmental complexity, feeding variation and foraging opportunities.
Troubleshoot and maintain life support systems and monitoring equipment (climate controllers, humidifiers, UV lighting, thermostats, data loggers) and coordinate repairs with facilities or vendors.
Lead or contribute to exhibit design and renovation projects by providing species husbandry requirements, enclosure layout recommendations, and maintenance considerations for long-term sustainability.
Respond to emergencies—including power outages, floods, temperature excursions, contamination events and animal escapes—by activating contingency plans, conducting triage and coordinating recovery actions.
Facilitate inter-institutional loans and transfers, prepare accurate condition reports, complete health screening documentation and supervise safe crating and shipment of live invertebrates.
Analyze colony demographics, mortality rates and production metrics to make data-driven recommendations for husbandry changes, genetic management, or culling and disposition plans.
Provide technical input for grant proposals, conservation plans and institutional reports by summarizing husbandry success, breeding outcomes and research contributions.
Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of taxonomy, life cycles, and emerging best practices in invertebrate care by reviewing scientific literature and participating in professional networks and continuing education.

Secondary Functions

Assist with light carpentry, painting and scenic work for exhibit updates and seasonal displays to enhance visitor experience while meeting animal welfare needs.
Support collection accessioning processes and perform periodic audits of specimen holdings to ensure catalog accuracy and compliance with records management policies.
Contribute to digital content (social media posts, web copy, interpretive signage) to promote specific species, breeding successes and conservation messages to wider audiences.
Offer cross-departmental support for special events, conservation days and school outreach programs, representing the invertebrate collection and sharing species expertise.
Provide input to operational planning by identifying facility upgrades, supply chain risks, and training gaps that impact husbandry reliability and visitor programming.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Proven expertise in invertebrate husbandry and breeding techniques across multiple orders (e.g., Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera, Blattodea, Arachnida) with documented success in captive propagation.
Strong competency in environmental control and husbandry equipment: calibration and troubleshooting of thermostats, humidifiers, UV/LED lighting, climate control units and data logging systems.
Skilled in biosecurity, quarantine protocols and infectious disease prevention including isolation workflows, PPE use, and disinfection regimes suitable for invertebrate collections.
Competence in specimen preparation and preservation methods (pinning, ethanol storage, wet specimen curation) and maintaining museum-quality voucher records.
Accurate recordkeeping using digital collection management systems, spreadsheets or custom databases (e.g., ZIMS, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets) for tracking life history and colony metrics.
Experience handling live prey cultures (e.g., crickets, fruit flies, mealworms) including rearing, contamination control and diet formulation for predator species.
Familiarity with relevant legal and regulatory frameworks (CITES, state/provincial permit systems, animal welfare legislation) for procurement, transport and display of invertebrates.
Ability to safely handle stinging or venomous species using approved restraint techniques, protective equipment and emergency protocols.
Basic tool use and light maintenance skills for habitat repair, habitat construction and equipment installation.
Research support skills including data collection, sample labeling, adherence to study protocols and collaboration on husbandry-focused investigations.
Proficiency with Windows/macOS computer environments, email, and common software for reporting, scheduling and inventory tracking.
First aid and emergency response knowledge relevant to staff safety around live collection and exhibit infrastructures.

Soft Skills

Excellent observation skills and attention to detail to detect subtle health or behavioral changes that indicate welfare issues.
Strong written and verbal communication skills for record keeping, reporting and delivering interpretive talks to visitors and stakeholders.
Problem-solving mindset and the ability to make calm, evidence-based decisions during animal health or facility emergencies.
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams (veterinary, curatorial, education, facilities).
Patience and manual dexterity for repetitive or fine motor tasks such as small specimen handling, micro-dissection or delicate enclosure maintenance.
Training and mentoring capability to develop volunteers and junior staff in safe, consistent husbandry practices.
Time management and organizational skills to balance daily care routines, record updating, public programs and project work.
Adaptability and willingness to learn new techniques, changing regulations and evolving best practices in invertebrate care.
Commitment to animal welfare, conservation ethics and public education as core institutional values.
Customer-focused attitude when interacting with visitors, donors and partner organizations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent with demonstrated hands‑on experience in animal care or entomology (e.g., internships, technician positions, volunteer experience).

Preferred Education:

Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Entomology, Zoology, Biology, Ecology, Animal Science, Conservation Biology or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Entomology
Zoology / Animal Science
Conservation Biology
Ecology
Horticulture (for habitat plant management)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

1–5 years of direct hands-on experience caring for invertebrate collections, or 2–7 years including related animal care roles at zoos, research labs or insectariums.

Preferred:

3+ years of progressive invertebrate husbandry experience with documented breeding successes; demonstrated experience with quarantine protocols, exhibit maintenance, and public engagement. Prior experience in a regulated institution (zoo, aquarium, museum) or formal research environment is highly desirable.