The importance of the role played by insects, not just as pests, but as an important value to humanity is becoming more appreciated each year. This study began as an inquiry of the frequency of the Passalidae beetle in the Peruvian rainforest. Neotropical rain forests have been considered the most species-rich forests that exist worldwide (Gentry 1988a, 1988b: Valencia et al. 1994).
The beetle order, Coleoptera, contains the largest order of insects – estimates of more than a million. These species occur in virtually all habitats on the land and freshwater, but Antarctica and in the ocean (Pearson and Beletsky, 2001). One of the most distintctive features of the Coleoptera is the structure of the wings.(insect book).
The family Passalidae: bess beetle suborder Polyphaga, super family Scarabaeoidea. These beetles are called by a variety of names; bess bugs, Bessie- bugs, betsy beetles, patent-leather beetles, and horned passalus beetles (Borror, Triplehorn, and Johnson 1989).