Wow!
If there's one thing we've learned over the past few videos on this channel, it's that
beetles truly are spectacular creatures!
We're right in the middle of the Rhino Beetle Games, our Beetle Olympics involving the coolest
and now the most famous Rhino Beetles in the world!
But now your Rhino Beetle Gladiators, are taking a break from the Games this week, in
order to rest for the next round of the games which will be quite physically demanding for
our Gladiators, but AC Family, I didn't want you guys to go without a video this week so,
keeping within Beetle Season on this channel, I decided to visit the most incredible Insectarium,
all way in Tokyo, Japan, at a special exhibit which allows us to actually get our hands
on the largest scarab beetles in the entire world!
If you thought our Gladiators were cool - wait until you see just how awesome these titanic
beetles are!
They're strong, built like tanks, even frightening in appearance, but are they dangerous?
Well, what you'll find out about them today will truly blow your mind, as it did mine,
and I also have a very important question for you, as an idea on how we can incorporate
one of these gigantic beetles into our Rhino Beetle Games, so keep on watching until the
end!
Ladies and gentlemen, travel with me all the way to Japan as I take you on an intimate
journey, up close and personal with the largest scarab beetles from around the world, here
on the AntsCanada Ant Channel.
Please SUBSCRIBE to my channel, and hit the BELL icon.
Welcome to the AC Family!
Enjoy!
You would never know this local amusement park in Tokyo called Toshimaen was home to
one of the most incredible beetle exhibits I have ever seen in my life!
The Japan Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs flew us to Tokyo so we, the AC Family,
could check out their amazing hands-on beetle exhibit at the Toshimaen-no-Mori Insectarium!
At first, I was like - sure, I've seen beetle exhibits in museums and insectariums around
the world before, so in my head, I already anticipated this would be super cool, but
nothing I hadn't seen before!
But, boy was I wrong.
Upon entering a small unsuspecting room at the Insectarium, take a look at what I saw!
Completely open-concept set ups with labels!
At first glance, I said to myself, there is no way these groupings of branches and plants
have free-roaming beetles!
But AC Family, to my surprise, they all did!
Massive scary beetles with horns like Samurai swords blasting forth from their heads hung
still on the branch work, in sectioned off plots throughout the entire room.
Female scarab beetles, and the fearsome-looking males stood there with no glass to keep kids
from touching them.
What?!
Wait a sec!
To my surprise, this crazy, glass-free exhibit of giant fearsome beetles is 100% open for
kids and adults alike to touch, handle, and experience in a way they would never forget.
My jaw hit the floor, as I watched as kids full out handled these quite dangerous beetles!
Razor-sharp mandibles looking ready to slice flesh lay inches away from kids' faces!
Wasn't this dangerous?
There wasn't even a supervisor to oversee the activity happening at the exhibits!
Well, guys, the reasoning behind all this beetle madness will blow your mind, and so
will the entire concept behind this extreme and interactive beetle exhibit.
All that, coming up in a bit, but first let's hold and meet some giant beetles!
Ohhh this is going to be epic!
This first beetle, I held was definitely my favourite beetle of all time growing up.
I had only seen them in books and online, so actually touching one in real life was
an ultimate dream come true!
AC Family, meet the stag beetle!
Stag beetles are a group of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae.
This bad boy was just about three inches long, which is huge!
Look at those jaws!
They're found all over the world, including 24 species of stag beetles in North America.
Not sure as to the exact species of this one, but it sported the most gorgeous olive green
elytra, those wing coverings, a matte thorax, head, and jaws, with two big eyes on opposite
sides of the head, and two antennae.
It was surprisingly docile and non-fidgety, unlike our Rhino Beetle Gladiators, and allowed
me to handle it and place it back without fighting nor biting me.
There you go big guy, back on your piece of wood.
Don't worry, it didn't fall off.
Hehe!
Now this second stag beetle which was about the same size and just as impressive is a
Japanese local species of stag beetle, that I found just roving about, and man, check
out those jaws!
They're like army ant mandibles!
Now this stag beetle was designed slightly different.
It lay flatter to the ground like a Lamborghini with a gorgeous black matte paint job!
I love that this 4K camera can really show you guys the detail of this stag beetle's
exoskeleton.
The membranes between the stag's body parts were a bright mustard colour and as it walked
across my hands, it seemed super careful and gentle.
And now to show you, one of the coolest of the beetles in the entire room!
There were a lot of these guys around, and I did my best to find the biggest, baddest,
and meanest-looking one - and here it was!
This beetle stood there with its three huge spines, looking ever ready to mercilessly
stab any on comer that would disturb it.
It even had it's own Hypoaspis mites keeping it clean of parasites!
It looked cool, but man, I was so reluctant to even touch it.
Standing at almost 4 inches long, this thing was a real-life triceratops of the insect
word!
I touched it a bit and it reared up slowly, and when I was ready, I went in to pick it
up!
The beetle swiped me away as I moved in.
Alright let's try again!
Using both hands this time, I guided it onto my skin and moved it up to the camera!
Wow!
AC Family isn't this beetle just crazy?
It doesn't even look real!
Guys, this here is the epic Chalcosoma atlas, the Atlas Beetle.
Native to Southeast Asia, these beetles are among the largest in the region.
Upon closer inspection, I also noticed that this beetle actually had four horns.
See that small horn there in the middle.
I would not want to mess with this beetle if I were a beetle-eating reptile or bird!
Check out that anatomy and exoskeleton!
Nothing is getting through that armour!
I didn't want to bother this knight in shining armour any longer so I put it back down on
the wood.
Extremely impressive beetle, but again, not once did it harm me nor stab me with body
or leg spines, which is more than I could say for our Rhino Beetle Gladiators every
time I'm handling them.
There's actually an interesting reason why these beetles were seemingly non-aggressive
and I'll get into that later.
But holding and meeting this beetle did give me an amazing idea, particularly with regards
to our Rhino Beetle Games, and I'll be asking for your valuable opinions regarding that
in a little bit.
But first, the next beetle I was about to hold, is perhaps what every beetle-enthusiast
would call, the ultimate Unicorn of the Beetle World, and when I stumbled across it at this
exhibit, I nearly died!
AC Family, meet Dynastes hercules, the mighty and massive hercules beetle.
As soon as I saw it, my heart jumped into my throat.
Not only had I not seen one in real life prior to this encounter, but the thought that I
could actually hold one, made this moment utterly magical!
Take a look at this beast!
It was just a gorgeous sight to behold.
The entire world disappeared around me, as I went in to pick up this heavenly creature.
O-M-G!
Wow!
Look at this giant beast!
It stood perfectly still as I stared at it from various angles, unmoving as I admired
its two giant parallel horns and gorgeous mustard-green elytra, whose shiny surface
more resembled some contemporary artwork.
Look at that!
Turning the beetle upside down for a sec, I could see that this creature was solidly
built.
I never imagined hercules beetles were this beautiful and majestic!
And guys, check out that brush of hair beneath the top horn.
I never knew they had that!
The details of this beetle left me speechless, as I realized within my hands lay one of the
most legendary insects on the planet!
And surprisingly, this thing flies, too!
Imagine one of these beetles flying past your head!
They're native to South America and are a prized possession for beetle collectors worldwide!
What do you guys think of this?
I also couldn't get over that lint-brush bottom of its top horn!
It was so soft to the touch like velvet!
I wonder what its evolutionary purpose was!
What do you guys think?
So speaking of horns and spines and why I wasn't getting injured during this entire
exhibit experience, as I put this 6 inch long hercules beetle back in its spot on the wood,
I was able to chat with the caretaker of the Toshimaen-no-Mori Insectarium, and get to
the bottom of all the questions I had, and AC Family, are you ready to be blown away
by what he had to share with us?
First, I wondered why these huge, capable and armed scarab beetles were not showing
any aggression or defensive behaviour when handled, I mean kids were touching them unsupervised!
Well, the first answer to that was, though the beetles certainly had the equipment to
harm people, this equipment was mostly used for another purpose.
As you may know from our Rhino Beetles participating in the Rhino Beetle Games, these large horns
and spines are found only in the males, and though these structures can be used for defense,
they're mostly used for battling each other over territory, food, and the right to breed
with females who lack these fighting horns and spines.
Second, the reason these beetles are docile is because like our Rhino Beetle Gladiators,
they're nocturnal, meaning they're active by night, so they're quite sluggish during
the day when the exhibit is open.
The beetles simply stay put and snooze, sometimes moving locations, but generally staying in
the same spot.
They tolerate human handling, as they've become used to it, and at the end of the day, the
caretaker collects each beetle, places them in their enclosures somewhere in the back,
and feeds them a nutritious beetle food called beetle jelly.
Now, AC Family are you ready for the best part of all this?
I asked the caretaker why they allow the public, particularly kids, to actually handle the
beetles, with no formal supervision by staff.
We would never see anything this unsupervised or uncontrolled in Canada or USA, especially
with live and dangerous beetles, and you know what he said to me?
He said this insectarium had been open for many decades now, and their philosophy with
this beetle exhibit was to teach kids at a young age how to handle and work around beetles.
They recognize that in other parts of the world, the only way a person can learn about
these beetles in a museum is through glass and a very restricted and affected form of
interaction via a supervisor who will caution and control these human-to-beetle interactions.
But, here at the Toshimaen-no-Mori Insectarium they believe that kids should be given the
opportunity to be exposed to the beetles and exposed to possible bites, spine stabs, and
pinches, so that they learn early on that these beetles are living creatures, that the
demand respect when handling, and that they actually are nothing to be afraid of if handled
correctly.
This completely blew my mind, guys, because I realized how many of us in the West are
completely terrified of insects, as we are told and learn at an early age that we should
not touch, or come close to such gross creatures, and that they are only ok to approach if behind
glass or under the supervision and caution of an expert.
Now as a kid, I was lucky my mom and older cousins exposed me to the amazing world of
bugs and critters at the age 5, and showed me just how great they were to hold, keep,
and look at, and so today I love them!
Can you imagine how valuable these up close and personal interactions with the beetles
are for these kids?
They were learning first hand that these great beetles are delicate, alive, and will pinch
you good if you handle them too roughly or stick your fingers in the wrong place!
At their age, I could only see giant beetles like this in books, but here they were actually
holding them, learning how they move and the best way to pick them up, feeling their weight
and texture, the strength of their grip, seeing their elytra up close, discovering the softness
of their hair, all at their our own discretion for as long as they wanted.
These are things you can't possibly experience through a book, online, nor with separation
caused by a pane of glass or some overly supervised and timed interaction, available at most zoos
and museums.
As I watched the kids playing with the beetles, I noticed they were quite gentle with them
and were largely unafraid, naturally curious and interested.
It was this experience in Tokyo, where I realized the value of such an exhibit.
My North American mind would have said this exhibit was a law-suit waiting to happen,
but I have found Japanese culture in general to be highly built on the foundations of respect,
responsibility, discipline, and honour so it was no surprise that lawsuits were something
the Insectarium was not worried about in the least, nor were they afraid of Japanese kids
stomping on or mistreating the beetles.
In fact, beetle-keeping is a very popular activity among kids in Japan, and I imagine
kids who grow up loving insects, grow up understanding the importance of conservation.
Isn't that brilliant?
What do you guys think?
And so, with my insect-loving heart completely full, I now have a very important question
to ask you all, AC Family.
And it's this: so apparently these Atlas Beetles are found in the Philippines, where I currently
live.
Should we try to find some and try to incorporate them into the Rhino Beetle Games somehow?
I do have an idea on how I can, and I won't tell you how just yet, but I wanted to know
what you guys thought about these Atlas Beetles.
Cool or not cool?
If so, let's hope I can find one or a few to incorporate into the games!
AC Family, as we continue on with the Rhino Beetle Games next week, and marvel at the
outstanding design and capabilities Mother Nature gave them, I hope you will remember
this neat beetle exhibit in Tokyo, Japan, that reminds us how awesome it is to share
the planet with these neat, living creatures called beetles, who each have an important
place in the ecosystem, making up over a quarter of all the animal species, humans have ever
documented on Earth.
Beetles are truly some of the baddest of creatures on the planet...
After ants, of course!
Alright, guys!
Thank you for watching today's episode.
Did you enjoy meeting these beetles?
Which one was your favourite?
Should we incorporate some Atlas Beetles into the Rhino Beetle Games this year, or perhaps
leave them for next year?
Be sure to tune in next week as we continue with the Rhino Beetle Games to see which of
your Gladiators takes the win of the Pyramid of Hera, and which Gladiator is the next to
sadly leaves us next week.
So guys, be sure to smash that subscribe button and bell icon now, so you get notified at
every single upload and stay with us for these 2019 Rhino Beetle Games, and hit the like
button every single time, including now.
Trust me, guys, you will want to be part of this super fun and educational experience!
If you're new to the channel, and want to catch up on all your AntsCanada Lore, feel
free to binge watch this complete story line playlist here, which traces the origins of
all the ant colonies of the ant room, so you can follow their stories and better appreciate
how these ant kingdoms came to be, and why we love them so much!
AC Inner Colony, I have left a hidden cookie for you here, if you want to take a look at
another super neat exhibit I came across at the Insectarium containing whirligig beetles
and great diving beetles, as well as a community of other amazing fish and shrimps!
It was pure paludarium goals, guys, so do check it out!
The caretaker even fed them for us!
And now it's time for the AC Question of the Week!
Last week we asked:
How might having great strength help a male rhino beetle succeed in the wild?
Congratulations to FiveOrca who correctly answered:
A male rhino beetle that has great strength will be able
to win in jousting fights with other male rhino beetles which
means the male rhino beetle will win more territory and females
to mate with therefore providing safety and a way to reproduce.
Congratulations, FiveOrca, you just won a free e-book handbook from our shop!
In this week's AC Question of the Week, we ask:
Which of the three different scarab beetles is your favourite and why?
Leave your answer in the comments section and you could also win a free e-book handbook
from our shop!
Hope you can subscribe to the channel as we upload every Saturday at 8AM EST.
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It's ant love forever!