Interview
We speak to author and beetle fan M G Leonard
Was there a particular moment in your life that sparked your interest in beetles? What is it about them that captured your attention?
The moment I discovered that I didn’t know what a beetle was, was the moment my interest in beetles exploded. I had thought I knew, but then I came across their scientific name – Coleoptera. ‘Coleoptera’ was not a word I had encountered before, so I looked it up. It translates from Ancient Greek as ‘sheath wing’. The primary distinctive feature of all beetles is that they have two pairs of wings – a hard outer pair and then sheathed beneath that is a soft, membranous pair of wings, and most of them can fly. I was shocked. When I closed my eyes and pictured a beetle, it was a small, black crawling creature – which I now know to be the common ground beetle. I did not know that beetles had wings or could fly. I had thought I was well educated and reasonably knowledgeable, but I obviously wasn’t if I didn’t even know what a beetle was. This realisation came as I stared at a webpage full of amazing facts about how important the humble beetle is to the planet, how there are over 400,000 species that live in every conceivable habitat on Earth (with the exception of the Arctic and salt sea water). How was it possible that I didn’t even know what a beetle was when one in every four living things on this planet is a beetle? I went out with friends that evening and I asked them to imagine a beetle and describe what they saw. Not one of them imagined wings. When I told them what I’d discovered, I was surprised to realise that none of them knew what a beetle was either. I realised someone needed to write about these amazing, overlooked creatures. It turns out that someone had to be me.
The Beetle Collector’s Handbook is a great way of getting younger readers interested in beetles. When did you get the idea to create a non-fiction accompaniment to your Beetle Boy trilogy?
The idea for the handbook came while I was writing Beetle Boy. I wanted Darkus, my protagonist, to know nothing about beetles at the beginning of the adventure, just like the reader, and his growing knowledge had to come from somewhere. Where better than a book? I looked for comprehensive beetle books and couldn’t find one in print. Eventually, I found a book printed in the 1900s called The Beetle Collector’s Handbook and decided to base the book in the story on that book. The original book has long been out of print. The language is oldfashioned, as are some of the attitudes towards the natural world, making it hard to understand, and it lacks humour. I thought, if Beetle Boy does well, I would like to write a contemporary version of this type of book for children today.
How did you go about researching the book? Did you discover any particular facts or new beetle species you were unaware of?
I started with the six years of research I had done for my fiction books. I wanted to make sure that the beetle characters in my stories featured in the non-fiction. I have interviewed many entomologists over the years and knew that I wanted the book to have a narrator, a fictional entomologist, sharing their beetle knowledge, rather than a blitz of facts. I also wanted the book to make what can seem to be a complex and baffling science relatable, easy to understand and fascinating. After establishing a list of the most interesting beetles, I began researching each one. Entomology is a complex science because knowledge isn’t fixed but rather evolves with our understanding of the world of minibeasts, and new species are discovered all the time. I am always discovering new facts and species, as are the scientists working in the field. I could spend my whole life learning about beetles and still be continually surprised. Humans may have discovered and described 400,000 species of beetle, but it is believed there are another 2 million species we are unaware of.
If you had to pick your favourite beetles, which would they be and why?
Choosing a favourite beetle is tough because there are so many cool ones. I think the rhinoceros beetle has character, which is why I made him the hero beetle of my trilogy. They are impressive-looking creatures, the size of small birds, but they have superhero strength. Did you know a rhinoceros beetle can lift 100 times its own body weight? That would be like me being able to lift an elephant! I also love the bombardier beetle as it shoots boiling acid out of
“Someone needed to write about these creatures. Turns out that someone was me"
its bottom at predators. The tiger beetle is pretty special too. It is emerald green with spindly legs and runs so fast that it can’t see. It has to sprint in short bursts and has giant bulbous eyes to orientate it when it stops. If it were the same size as Usain Bolt it could run the 100 metres in 0.9 seconds! That is a race I’d love to see.
Is there a particular species you’d really like to see? Perhaps something rare or exotic that not many people have the chance to observe?
The biggest beetle on the planet is the Titanus giganteus. It is the size of a rat. They are now an endangered species because of habitat destruction and climate change. No human has ever seen the larva of a titan beetle, because they live and grow inside the trunks of trees. From the holes they make as they bore their way through the tree, eating and growing, it is estimated the larvae grow to about 30 centimetres in length and five centimetres in diameter. I would love to see one, and also witness the flight of such a large beetle. It must be a wondrous spectacle.
Beetles are often overlooked when people think about their favourite animals. How do you hope The Beetle Collector’s Handbook could improve people’s appreciation for these creatures?
We should know more about the heroic minibeasts that do many important jobs in our ecosystem. Once you begin discovering the wonder of beetles it’s hard to stop. I’m hoping The Beetle Collector’s Handbook will be an entertaining and delightful introduction to some of the coolest and freakiest beetles out there, but it is only a beginning, the first footsteps on a path to a better relationship with the creatures in our gardens and parks.
How could readers go about observing beetles in their gardens or parks? Where are the best places to look?
You can look for beetles anywhere. There are a host of tiny beetles that live in our houses. However, the most fun can be had with a sweeping net (a hardy butterfly net) and an overgrown patch of land. If a garden is over manicured and controlled with pesticides then you’ll find no insects. What you want is a wildflower meadow, or a woodland with piles of rooting wood, or a footpath with hedgerows, weeds and a mix of plants. If you have a garden with a pond you’ll discover a wonderful range of insects thriving around it. You may even have water beetles. I always pack little pots with magnifying lids and air holes, to look closely at the beetles I catch, before setting them free. You will have to get down on all fours and have a good rummage for some of the ground beetles, but it is impossible not to find something.
Do you have any tips for readers interested in keeping beetles as pets?
I have kept pet beetles for three years. Right now in my beetle zoo I have a pair of black chunky Dorcus stags, a pair of pretty pink Indonesian stags, a pair of stunning Australian rainbow stags, three yellow-and-black sun beetles and five African flower beetle larvae. They are the easiest pets to keep. Their tanks need regular misting to make sure they don’t dry out, and the adults eat little pots of jelly, but you can leave them for days and they’re fine. I keep them in my study and find them excellent companions while writing. I have a page on my website with links to beetle suppliers and videos about how to look after beetles, but it is really quite simple as long as you remember that they fly.