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Rare live beetles seized in Philadelphia in alleged smuggling attempt

nbcphiladelphia.com · 9h · first reportShare

Three live beetles being smuggled to Germany were seized in Philadelphia after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found them inside a package labeled as a “play toy,” officials said. Officials said that officers inspected the outbound parcel on Aug. 18 after it was labeled as “4x play toy.” Instead, officers discovered three large live Chief Goliath beetles, a container containing beetle parts and two shadow boxes used to display insect specimens. After seizing the package, officers submitted the live insects and photos of the beetle parts to entomologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The entomologists identified the three live beetles as female Chief Goliath beetles, and the dead beetles as three stag beetles, officials said. According to officials, Chief Goliath beetles are native to rainforests in Africa. Researchers also consider the beetles to be increasingly rare. Exotic insects are highly popular among collectors an