Insect-Related Travel Experiences Are Trending And Here Are The Best Places To Do It

Anyone who has ever spent any time outside, whether it be in a backyard or in the backwoods, is familiar with bug encounters. Most see them as a bane to the outdoor experience and put much effort into trying to repel bugs from their campsites and yards. However, even gardeners, who have long suffered from these pests, have begun to realize there are some insects you shouldn't kill. Furthermore, a slowly growing segment of tourists is actually seeking out places where they can see bugs. Insect-related travel has grown to the point that even the Travel Channel has featured a number of insect museums and National Geographic has profiled various national parks where visitors can see unique bugs.

While such destinations would obviously appeal to bug lovers, it is not just aspiring amateur entomologists that are drawn to these locales. In fact, some insect-related travel experiences in the U.S. –- and beyond –- are so impressive that they attract even those who spend much of their time trying to keep bugs away from them. These are just a couple of the more awe-inspiring insect-related travel experiences that should be on every explorer's bucket list.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is almost equally split between North Carolina and Tennessee, is the most popular national park in the United States. It is on almost every outdoor enthusiast's national park bucket list. One of the many reasons more than 13 million people visit this park each year is to view bugs — lightning bugs, to be specific. Also known as fireflies, these illuminating insects are indicative of summer evenings spent outdoors for countless people. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, synchronous fireflies are just one of nearly 20 types of fireflies, according to the National Park Service. As their name suggests, the flashes of these fireflies are synchronized with one another. Viewing this phenomenon is so popular that the park service operates a lottery system to grant passes to those hoping to catch the prime time for firefly viewing during early June.

If you aren't one of the lucky ones to be drawn for viewing synchronous fireflies at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there are other options. According to Firefly.org, there are around a half dozen other locations in the United States where synchronous fireflies are known to exist. Among those destinations are Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, Rocky Fork State Park and Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area in Tennessee, and Congaree National Park in South Carolina.

Every autumn, millions of monarch butterflies from across North America migrate to their winter homes. Some will stay through winter in California, but the vast majority head down into the mountains of Mexico, where they will stay until migrating back north in the spring. While seeing streams of migrating monarchs can happen at various parts of the United States along the migratory route, it is while they are wintering in Mexico that they are a major tourist draw. This natural phenomenon has become important both economically and culturally in this region of Mexico. In fact, the area in which they winter, the mountainous territory northwest of Mexico City, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.

If you're not quite ready to cross international borders to view migrating monarchs, there are a few prime spots within the U.S., as well. There are several migratory routes monarchs take each spring and fall. One takes them either down the West Coast of the U.S. into central California or into Mexico. Another runs along the east coast into Florida, where some will spend the winter, or across the Gulf Coast States to Texas and Mexico. Routes coming from the Midwest and Great Plains eventually merge in Texas and continue into Mexico. Parks scattered along these migratory paths offer great viewing opportunities.