UK: monster beetle found in bananas

Have you ever spotted a beetle the size of a hamster before? Probably not, because the creepy crawlies we find in the UK are usually much smaller. But a huge beetle has been found in London, amongst a delivery of bananas from Costa Rica in South America.

Animal experts say the big bug is a male elephant beetle, an endangered species which lives in rainforests. He's been named Bill, and taken to a zoo near Cambridge, where keepers are trying to find a friend for him.

The 11cm-long creature travelled thousands of miles from his home in South America to the fruit packing factory in London. He would have been chilled along with the fruit on the journey, and probably sprayed with chemicals to keep off insects, so people are saying it's a miracle he survived!

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Publication date: 6/3/2008

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