Congi This is a story about my pet beetle named Congi. Congi is a rhinoceros beetle from Japan.

Beetle Birthday! For my 8th birthday, I got 2 pet beetles from Dr. Crawley. He caught them at Lake Towada. The girl died. I named the male Congi.

Dr. Crawley gave me 2 more girls. I learned how to feed them. I fed them beetle food,but they also like fresh fruit. Congi’s favorite was melon. Beetles dont need a water dish because they get the juice from the fruit.

I like to play with beetles. They are very gentle. They like to climb on sticks and dig in the dirt. They are very active at night.

In November Congi and the girls died. I decided to keep them and start a collection. Dr. Crawley showed me how to pin them.

Bath Time! I learned how to clean them. I use a soft cloth or q-tips and water.

One of the beetles's leg broke off, but that’s Ok. I just glued it back using special insect glue.

For Christmas, I got a new insect collection box. Dr. Crawley gave me some different kinds of insects to put in it until I can catch my own.

Misawa Home School Science Fair I put my new insect collection on display at the science fair and showed others how to see my insects close up in the microscope.

I wrote a book about Congi too! Mom helped me make my science board.

Title Congi and Friends by Luci Uncpher grade 3 Misawa Japan Assistance provided by: Karrie Uncapher (mom) helped with cleaning the insect home, cutting fruit for the insects, pinning the difficult parts of the insects, supervised use of the microscope. Dr. Geoff Crawley collected and donated beetles and insects, gave instruction for care of beetles, and instruction in starting a collection. Bettie Sotomayor helped with the power point.