Coleopterists have long been aware of the need to "get back to nature" in order to rejuvenate their minds, bodies, and research. Recently, scientists have begun to seriously study the inherent basis of the human need for nature, coined biophilia by Harvard University biologist E. O. Wilson.

Wilson defined biophilia as the innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living things. The biophilia hypothesis recognizes that our relationship with nature is complexs and should be viewed not only from the perspective of what nature means to our immediate individual and collective survival, but also as a biologically based need essential to our love/hate relationship with nature. Within this context we can begin to explore the value of beetles.

	Many common, large brightly colored or horned beetles could be farmed for the dead-stock trade as a sustainable rain forest crop, generating in part, a local economy that encourages the preservation of the primary and secondary forests known to be the natural habitats of these beetles. Species of the genus Chrysina (formerly Plusiotis) could be raised in this manner.
	Of the nine endangered beetle species protected by the Endangered Species Act (U.S. 1973), Nicrophorus americanus is one of the best known. A recovery plan has been implemented to increase the population and range of this species to secure its future.
Here one of the authors (Art Evans) shares the biology of the Central Amercan hercules beetle, Dynastes hercules, with young visitors to the Insect Zoo, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.	The familiar, yet bizarre nature of beetles makes them the perfect ambassadors for environmental awareness.