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About Me



I am the original 'Bug Lady', breeding and supplying many types of creepy crawly pets. My little home business has now been going for over 40 years, in the last few years I have found myself being called the ‘Spider Lady’ more often than not. Trends are continually changing and arachnids are far more popular than they have ever been before. I have a bug room at the side of our house that is dedicated to keeping a multitude of creatures. Since moving out of London in 2003, my work is mainly postal, so many things have changed over the years. My first online store was set up in 2009 and in October 2012 my current online store went live, the photographs are larger and clearer, the information is more comprehensive and the online ordering is simpler and therefore easier to use. Even I find it hard to believe that I once sent out paper catalogues and waited for customers to post me their orders and cheques. I am still readily accessible by email and telephone and I strive to maintain my position as the most friendly and reliable bug supplier!

In years gone by I have bred Lepidoptera for schools and private individuals, I manufactured a range of net cages and visited primary schools with my mini-beast show. I now concentrate on breeding and supplying live bugs within the UK and Europe. I appeared on television quite frequently in the past (the Big Breakfast and various children's TV shows), these days I am generally behind the scenes, supplying the bugs to be filmed. I provide many schools, universities, butterfly farms, zoos and private individuals with an ever increasing, number of invertebrate animals. I am mainly a livestock supplier but I do sell a few pieces of associated equipment e.g. heat mats, plastic containers, thermometers and hygrometers. All my parcels are sent by Royal Mail's fastest methods of delivery, which is calculated on weight. I therefore only sell 'lighter' items of equipment. As you can tell from just a couple of paragraphs the bug business is ever changing and l do my best to adapt, trading for over 40 years isn't bad going! I do not import any animals, consequently the vast majority of my creatures are captive bred.

 

Thank you for your continued support, Virginia Cheeseman FRES

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 05, 2025

    Hi Virginia.

    Unfortunately I couldn't find your email address to send this directly, but I just wanted to send a message to say thank you.

    As a young autistic man, with hobbies a lot of people unfortunately find strange - I really appreciate everything you provided as a seller and as a person.

    I believe that you have inspired far more individuals than you could imagine. I only wish I'd found you sooner and had the chance to make more orders before you retired.

    Regardless, I wish you the very best in your future and everything you will have more time to enjoy as a result.

    You certainly deserve it for yourself and for everything you've done to make the hobby more available to those like me.

    Thank you so much and good luck with your future endeavors.

    Best wishes, Tom.

    ReplyDelete

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