They’re creepy and crawly, but don’t bother with the can of Raid.

That would just spoil the fun these little critters have to offer.

The ISU Entomology Club, in association with the Committee on Lectures and Student Union Board, is sponsoring the 11th annual Insect Horror Film Festival in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.

In past years, the films shown have included such B-rated horror flicks as “Mothra” and “Them,” but in recent years, the movies have changed to appeal to a wider variety of people. This year, the festival will be showing the claymation film, “James and the Giant Peach.”

“This year’s movie will be a nice tie-in [to the attractions],” said Pat Miller, program coordinator.

In addition to the film, there will be an assortment of other activities, including insect displays, an insect petting zoo and exotic insect treats, such as cricket brownies and maggot crispies.

New to the festival this year are a honeybee display and butterfly tent.

“Many of the insects are there for observation and handling,” said Donald Lewis, professor of entomology. “Other displays are more of a static nature, where you can admire the diversity of insects.”

If people have a real taste for insects, they can take the night a step further by actually sampling bug-enriched foods, an event that has been quite popular during past insect fests.

“Last year we had chocolate covered crickets and mealworm dip,” Entomology Club President Jennifer Mueller said. “I don’t think we had very much left at all [by the end of the night]. Every other society, except for the western societies, eats insects as part of its diet. Some people really think it’s cool, and they like to learn about eating insects as part of their diet.”

“Certainly, insects can be nutritious,” Lewis said. “They could provide a very stable and high level of protein in the diet, but we in the United States have drawn a line that says shrimp and lobster are a delicacy, [while] their cousins, the bugs, are despicable.”

The Entomology Club doesn’t expect anyone to change his or her mind about eating insects, but it does hope to at least challenge this mindset towards bugs, Lewis says.

As far as the sanitary aspect of insect-ingesting is concerned, both Mueller and Lewis guarantee the snacks are safe to eat.

“The insects that we serve have all been laboratory-raised, so they have not brought with them pathogens that would be found in unhealthy environments. All of them are thoroughly cooked to expand the margin of safety, and, of course, [eating them] is a voluntary event,” Lewis said, adding that the actual eating of insects is more of a gimmick designed to attract attention.

And while Mueller says that eating insects is a lot easier to do when they are in something, Lewis says many people react surprisingly when eating plain, cooked bugs.

“When insects are prepared by themselves, people frequently describe the flavor as nutty,” Lewis said.

However, for the festival, the insects will be just one more ingredient in the otherwise typical brownie and rice crispy treats that will be on hand.

Although called a film festival, the focus of the event is now on the displays rather than on the film, Lewis said.

“The name [of the festival] isn’t very accurate for what we’re doing [now],” he said, “but we hope it’ll be just as much fun.”

“The Insect Horror Film Festival is always a big hit every year because of the unique recipes they bring to this event and the opportunity for students to actually interact with insects,” Miller said.

“It’s a fun event,” Mueller added. “You see insects in your daily life, but you never know what they do, or what they taste like. [The festival is about] trying something new. It’s learning about something you don’t know about.”

Doors open for the Insect Horror Film Festival Friday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. The film begins at 7:30 p.m. The event is free to the public.