Bug company thrives in Far North Queensland.

Victorian insect company Minibeast Wildlife is taking advantage of Far North Queensland’s big bugs, creating a thriving trade in all things creepy crawly.

MiniBeast Wildlife co- owner Deanna Henderson with some of the parcels of spiders and insects that they send from Kuranda all over Australia. Picture: Anna Rogers

LIVE bugs can be a lucrative trade according to a North Queensland insect business that is educating and showcasing an array of creepy crawlies.

Bug loving duo Deanna and Alan Henderson began Minibeast Wildlife in 2005 in Melbourne, after noticing there was a growing need for invertebrate education.

“Our passion was teaching kids about bugs and the importance they are to the ecosystem,” Mrs Henderson said.

In 2010, the Victorian based company made the sea change to Kuranda, North Queensland in the attempt to expand their business and be closer to some of the country’s biggest creepy crawlies.

Minibeast Wildlife co- owner Deanna Henderson with some of the parcels of spiders and insects that they send from Kuranda all over Australia. Picture: Anna Rogers

“We were paying a fortune in electricity bills just trying to keep the bugs warm and breeding,” Mrs Henderson said.

“The bugs grow bigger and impressive up north in the tropics.”

The family owned business has now grown to nine employees to meet the nationwide demand for insect exhibits and programs.

With their expansion into the north, Minibeast Wildlife services’ have grown to include animal wrangling for film and TV, bug displays and a postal service — sending pets to bug lovers across the country.

Tarantulas, beetles, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, cockroaches and stick and leaf insects are some of the invertebrates the now North Queensland business breeds.

Mrs Henderson said they are currently working on a new bug exhibit at the Daintree Discovery Centre which is north of Port Douglas.

The exhibit is set to open later in the year.