A Wrexham business is playing a key role in supporting a ‘world first’ exhibition at Chester Zoo.
Visitors have been flocking to see the BUGS! event which features 13 giant animatronic bugs, including a beetle which is sponsored by Wrexham Volkswagen.
Other large-scale robotic replicas include a scorpion, a ladybird and a 33ft-wide tarantula.
The huge creations were custom built for the zoo by a top animation studio in the USA and this is the first time they have ever been seen together, anywhere in the world.
Conservationists from the zoo hope the exhibition will provide a showcase for invertebrates and highlight the need to conserve threatened species.
Chester Zoo’s director general, Mark Pilgrim, said: “Chester Zoo is heavily involved in vital world-wide conservation work aimed at saving species from extinction.
“We want BUGS! to put invertebrates in the spotlight, show how fantastic they are and really raise awareness of the need to conserve them. Engaging people, particularly youngsters, with conservation sometimes takes some drastic ideas and new ways of thinking and that’s precisely what we hope these 13 giant, robotic bugs will do.
“It’s fantastic that businesses in the local area are supporting the project and it’s very apt that Wrexham Volkswagen is sponsoring the beetle given the success of its version of the invertebrate.”
Jane Hargreaves, brand manager at Wrexham Volkswagen, said: “We are delighted that the BUGS! exhibition is already proving so popular with visitors to Chester Zoo and hope the support from our business has gone some way to help the excellent conservation work carried out by the zoo.
“It was an obvious synergy linking together the businesses and I hope the robot beetle at the zoo proves to be equally as popular as the Volkswagen Beetle.”