Aslovenly brown spider sits amid empty pizza boxes and soda cans, holing himself up in his dingy home.

Poised for battle, a samurai beetle flashes four swords.

A knife-wielding bee sneaks through the tall grass with blood dripping suspiciously from its mouth.

No, you've not just taken a wrong turn into another dimension.

But if it's First Friday evening in February you just might be on Chestnut Street in Lancaster City.

"Buzz Worthy" is an exhibit of illustrated bug puns created by Pennsylvania College of Art & Design students.

It will be on display for one night only -- Feb. 3 -- in a new space, provisionally called the Chestnut Street Space.

The space is part of the property at 202 N. Prince St. purchased by PCA&D. Its large windows that face Chestnut Street make it a perfect venue for display.

And it just so happened that the students had something worth showing.

The college was contacted by folks from the North Museum last year about collaborating on upcoming exhibits the museum will host.

Bug exhibits.

"Wicked Bugs" and "Bugs ... Outside the Box" will open at the North Museum on February's First Friday.

But just how they would collaborate was the subject of discussion and brainstorming.

It was Bob Hochgertel, chair of the college's illustration department, who came up with the idea of creating illustrated bug puns.

The museum loved it.

Every sophomore to senior illustration major was assigned the project.

"We said they could only illustrate formal insects with a head, abdomen and thorax," Hochgertel says, "but later we expanded it to arachnids.

"There were no limitations on medium. Almost every traditional medium is represented, even some three-dimensional pieces."

Hochgertel says the students went all-out on the project, and when it came time to select from the 60 or 70 total pieces, it was a difficult task.

"We knew we couldn't hang all of them, just because of the limitations of space," he says.

Twenty-nine made the cut.

Some of the subjects include the monarch butterfly, elephant beetle, rhinocerus beetle, lightning bug, glasswing butterfly, praying mantis, cuckoo moth and the damselfly, among quite a few others.

"Some are humorous. Some are incredibly sophisticated. Some really embrace the pun," he says.

Collaborative efforts are often undertaken at PCA&D, according to Hochgertel.

"Nonprofits get the opportunity to get design they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford," he says. "And students get real-life experience."

In fact, all his senior projects are client-driven.

In addition, the students designed banners that hang outside the North Museum promoting the upcoming exhibits.

"Buzz Worthy" artwork is slated to be displayed later this year at the museum, with a time to be determined.

All the works will be for sale, with 50 percent of the proceeds benefiting the PCA&D Scholarship Fund.

And if you've made it to the end of this story, here's a question.

Have you figured out the bugs depicted in the first few paragraphs?

Read them again and we'll tell you the answers ... Brown recluse; Japanese beetle; killer bee. Buzzzzzzzz ...

"Buzz Worthy"

Friday, Feb. 3 from 5-9 p.m.

PCA&D's

Chestnut Street Space

Chestnut and Water sts.
www.pcad.edu