Giant Beetles - The name thrills if you come face to face with a male Hercules beetle of up to 18 cm long that is reminiscent of a gladiator with horns and body armour.

The name befits the fist-sized elephant beetles just as well, and they will impress the observer just as much.

In his guide book, Alexander Weigelt shares with everybody with an interest in beetles his years of experience with the genera Dynastes, Megasoma and Golofa from the southern regions of the USA and Central and South America, and provides a practically minded introduction to the breeding and keeping of these giants in the realm of the insects. Comprising approximately 350,000 species, beetles are by far the largest group amongst the insects. Their order is in fact so vast that about every third animal species on this planet is a beetle.