Taken 4/4/18. This attraction is located in a ground floor suite of 15 rooms within the historic U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, Louisiana; it features 82 exhibits for 116 species, most of them arthropods.
Wow, that's actually pretty incredible! Considering the females need animal blood, and considering they are generally reviled by the public, it's impressive that they were able to exhibit everyone's least favorite micropredator.
I know certain zoos keep vampire bats, and leeches are commonly available as pets, but I think parasitic organisms have a lot of potential in zoos. They're hugely diverse...fleas? ticks? endoparasites? No idea how one would keep a captive tapeworm without compromising something else's welfare, but it's fun to think about. (admittedly, not sure how many people would want to see a tapeworm, but that doesn't always stop zoos)
