Rhinocerous Beetles (2004-08-11)
Every summer in Japan rhinocerous beetles emerge from the wild and find their way into pet shops. These insects are usually big with a distinctive horn or a pair of claws sticking out on their head. The bigger they are, the more money they'll fetch for the shop owners. I saw a really giant one that was sold for one million yen (about US $9000) on TV last year. (That much money for a bug?)
People who don't like to pay for these rhino beetles go to the woods
to catch their own. Parents often take children to the forest so
they can scour trees for these big ugly bugs. As if there aren't
enough insects that creep into the house in summer, people want to
bring more from the outside to play
with??
The only good thing about keeping beetles is that this activity
benefits stores that sell insect nets, little cages, beetle food and
other related merchandise. I'll just help the economy by going
shopping and eating out, things that normal people do.
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