Taiwan's Rhinoceros Beetle Farm, Chiayi
Everytime I watch summer Japanese anime, there is always a summer activity in the storyline which involves hunting for beetle bugs. Being born in the big city, I totally cannot relate to this activity let alone knowing how's beetle bug looks like (apart from the Japanese anime). Who knows that there is a rhinoceros beetle farm here in Taiwan. To be exact, Taiwan's rhinoceros beetle farm is located in Zhongpu (中埔) in Chiayi county.
The whole area of rhinoceros beetle farm looks like a replica of Green Green Grassland in Cingjing Farm. Other than the rhinoceros beetles, you will be able to see other animals here too. If Green Green Grassland is dominated by sheeps, Rhinoceros Beetle Farm in Chiayi has deeper variety of animals such as goats, ponies, cows, ostriches, rabbits and a hothouse for insects and reptiles. I guess you can call it a mini zoo in Chiayi.
I hope you are not grossed out by beetles. The next few pictures will tell more about what you can find out more about rhinoceros beetles in the farm. You can increase your knowledge on how rhinoceros beetles grow. The farm has display for the three stages of rhinoceros beetle's life. For instance, the one displayed on the tube is the pupa stage (the second stage of beetle's life).
There are actually many variety of rhinoceros beetles. Wikipedia mentions that there are over 300 species of rhinoceros beetles in the world. Rhinoceros beetles are also known as Hercules beetles, Unicorn beetles or Horn beetles.
Looking at how it looks when it reach the imago state (adult), I suppose the beetles look pretty strong and they really have horns. Rhinoceros beetles are popular pets in parts of Asia. Some parts even use the male beetles for gambling. Haizz.
By the way, do you know that these rhinoceros beetles can fly? They can fly strongly and they react well to light at night. The big horns apparently do not hinder them from flying at all because the horns are turned out to be lightweight.
How to go to Rhinoceros Beetle Farm:
From Chiayi train station, it is better to take a cab to Rhinoceros Beetle Farm. If you don't know the name of the Rhinoceros Beetle Farm in Chinese, it is 獨角仙農場 (Dú jiǎo xiān nóngchǎng).