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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate NEWS NOW Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... Barbershop-style singers help local schools ... Water plant upgrade to increase water bills ... Giving back to the givers ... Phoenix students get bugged and love it PHOENIX — After explaining the benefits, dangers and idiosyncrasies of all things creepy and crawly to Phoenix Elementary School third-graders, John Jackson casually announces he's going to pull out Charlotte, his pet tarantula. Comment By John Darling MailTribune.com By John Darling Posted Jan. 21, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Jan 21, 2010 at 8:21 AM By John Darling Posted Jan. 21, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Jan 21, 2010 at 8:21 AM » Social News PHOENIX — After explaining the benefits, dangers and idiosyncrasies of all things creepy and crawly to Phoenix Elementary School third-graders, John Jackson casually announces he's going to pull out Charlotte, his pet tarantula. If they get in line, he tells his pupils, they can pet her. A wave of excitement and terror washes over the youngsters as they scream, leap to their feet and form a queue. One by one, with much grimacing, gasping and uncertain extension of fingers, the students pet the legs of this 4-inch-wide beastie. "It was cool and fun!" says Kassidy Hood. "I never petted a tarantula before." Catching his breath after a brush with one of the imposing arachnids, Dane Johnson exclaims: "It was really hairy — and fun! I was jumping up and down in line, waiting for it. I loved it!" For Jackson, a Medford resident and amateur entomologist who created the bug show after two recent corporate job layoffs, introducing students to his miniature world is a lifelong dream come true. "I've been collecting insects most of my life, and now I've got my son interested in it, too," says Jackson, noting father and son have presented their dramatic, fact-filled show to schools, retirement centers, corporate and church events and libraries. Though the tarantula haunts scary movies and is portrayed as a dangerous, attacking demon, Jackson lets it crawl in and out of his fingers and explains that it won't bite or inject its toxin in anything bigger than itself. "We just did four shows in the Butte Falls-Prospect schools," he says, "and there were only two people who wouldn't touch it — both adult male teachers." Seeing his bug show for the first time, his mother, Mary Ellen Jackson of Medford, recalls: "I think this all got started when he was very small, on vacations, picking the bugs out of car radiators. "� I'm very proud of him. He's a great teacher." Jackson also invites kids to pet the legs of a giant Australian stick bug, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a branch and is able to weave back and forth, like a branch in the wind — all a defensive adaptation to keep it from being eaten by birds. A graduate of Phoenix schools and the communications program at Southern Oregon University, Jackson is able to grab youthful fascination with insects and shift it into teachable moments, such as understanding how much we humans need insects — for pollination, preying on bad bugs, devouring dead animals and "eating poo." "The most dangerous insect is one that I guarantee you've already been bitten by," says Jackson, daring them to guess what it is. Answer: the mosquito, a notorious spreader of disease. Humans may think they rule the planet, but there are 7 quintillion insects alive now, comprising 56 percent of all animal life, he notes. Only five of Jackson's menagerie are alive and walking around. The rest are a fascinating lot of mounted specimens, many of them local, but most from exotic reaches of the globe, including a 4-inch-long stag beetle, with curving, black, pointy head appendages. "It cost $45. Getting it in a parcel was like Christmas morning," Jackson says. Other live (but nontouchable) critters include a black widow spider, giant scorpion, orb weaver spider and others. Jackson also teaches programs on worms and composting for a greener planet, rocks, minerals and fossils and owl pellet study. His business, Bugs-R-Us, can be reached at 541-772-3281 or www.bugsrus.org. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. By John Darling MailTribune.com By John Darling Posted Jan. 21, 2010 at 12:01 AM Updated Jan 21, 2010 at 8:21 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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