We all known bull fighting, dog fighting and cock fighting. Here I like to introduce beetle fighting. This game is nowadays popular in Myanmar (Burma), northern Thailand and northern Laos where many Chinese decedents reside.

Between the Summer solstice and Autumn equinox is the rainy season of this mountainous area. Also, it is the mating season of the rhinoceros beetles. In the beginning of the game, a female beetle is restrained in a cage and two adult male beetles are released face to face on a stick. Then, the cage is brought beside the males. When the maddening scent emitted by the female through holes of the cage reaches the beetles, the males start to fight against each other. The combatants lock horns like bulls and shove each other till one of them falls off the stick or runs away admitting defeat.

The game is not only seen as a means of removing the rhinoceros beetle, a pest to farmers, from the environment, but also for entertainment and for money. The spectators and beetle owners often gamble on the result of beetle fighting with wagers fixed by silent gestures and nods of the head.