Some postal workers in Philadelphia, US, were sorting through the mail when they came across a package labeled "toys, gifts and jellies." But something inside the package was making a noise (I see the beginning of a children's book here). The postmaster sent it off to customs where it was x-rayed and found to contain more than two dozen live giant beetles, some as large as a child's hand (5-6 inches across).
The beetles were a mix of Hercules, Rhinoceros, and Goliath beetles (I see a great jazz band name somewhere in there), all of which are known to be destructive pests.
Photo source: AP via Yahoo!
At least whoever shipped these (and they are now known to the authorities) gave the postal workers an exciting day. It isn't everyday you get to handle monster insects (and hey, free dollar bill!). I know some of you invert-lovers would be walking on Cloud 9 for weeks.
Thanks for the article, Ida.
May 22, 2008
Toys, Gifts and Jellies
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10 comments:
Well, I can see how some would consider these beetles as toys, and others would consider them as gifts....but jellies?!? YUCK! :)
Wow, look at how big! He's awesome!
Shipping bugs through the mail is really common, and is fairly legal. Now, the legality of the species in the area it's going to-- That's another problem.
Yeah, but was it a toy or a gift? I want to know!
He looks fluffy. =/
I think he's cute. x3
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Oh my. This is my first time to your site and I was eating breakfast when I saw this very ugly insect and lost my appetite (especially when imagining him in a jelly). Yikes. Maybe I'll just stick with coffee today. ;-)
Welcome to Ugly Overload, jublke.
I don't think you're ready for this jelly.
A quick comment on these guys. I live in PA and we received a LOT of press about them.
They were shipped with a jelly-like material, apparently that is what they ate on the journey.
It is illegal to ship these particular beetles to the states without the proper paperwork. (And these people did not have the proper paperwork.) The papers questioned if this was terroristic. I doubt it. But I don't like dollar bill sized bugs (I don't care what they are...but especially beetles!)
Apparently these guys are related to Egyptian scarabs (according to the media.) And could be detrimental to the ecosystem of the states. YIKES!
Can you just imagine the bug juice left on your windshield if you'd hit one of these?
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