Call it the "Wow!" factor.

Bishop Museum entomologist Shepherd Myers held up a specimen box containing a West African Goliath beetle. At seven inches long, with an armored black-and-white back, this was a ground warrior of such proportions that the head alone could dwarf Hawai'i's backyard beetle.

At Kapolei Public Library, scores of kids had come to Myers' "Catch A Bug," event, a Bishop Museum outreach program in entomology offered at selected libraries on O'ahu through July 12. The program, designed to introduce kids (and adults) to bugs, coincides with the state libraries' summer reading program "Catch the Reading Bug."

Myers' "Show and Tell" exhibits (albeit deceased) lay inside a dozen glass-covered boxes at the front of the room. They were some of the biggest and most exotic bugs in the world from the Bishop Museum's outstanding collection — tarantula spiders from Argentina, Goliath beetles from West Africa, sapphire-colored butterflies from Central America and 10-inch-long stick insects from New Guinea, each a superstar of the bug world.

Not every insect was glamorous. Take the dung beetle, which rolls away 50 times its own weight of dung — this audience loved it, nevertheless.

As the Goliath and Hercules beetle boxes toured the room with museum technician Shar Hashimoto, Myers threw out questions: "Why is a centipede not an insect?" "How many legs has a spider?"

And, "Who hates bugs?"

Little hands shot up; parents brows furrowed. Even with a microphone, Myers was challenged by the uproar.

"Insects are the most prevalent organism on the planet," he said. "Hawai'i has at least 10,000 insect species, of which 6,000 are endemic, meaning they are only found here." The other side of the coin: Hawai'i also has the highest rate of extinction.

THE DIRT ON BUGS

Insect facts can make your hair curl: One-third of the biomass in the Amazon rainforest is made up of ants. One hectare of soil in the region could yield in excess of 8 million ants and a million termites, Myers said.

Reactions among kids to the show varied.

"Eeew," said Rachel Mendes of 'Ewa Beach, as a big, hairy spider passed by.

"Cool," noted Brad Diggs, 9, of Makakilo.

The adults were impressed. "This is totally awesome," said Sharon McBarry and Michelle Bradley, science teachers from Island Pacific Academy, in Kapolei. "And we thought Hawai'i's 'B-52' flying cockroaches were big."

McBarry and Bradley brought their students to the library for the presentation. "We're teaching a summer school class about insects," Bradley said. "... This is perfect."

Despite the ferocious-looking beetles and spiders, it was the brilliant blue Morpho butterflies from Central America that came out a hot favorite, especially among girls.

Sierra Abbley, 8, loved the bugs, liked the butterflies best and thought she might be an entomologist when she grew up.

Mia Levesque, 6, watched attentively, while sister Emma, 3, preferred to stay by dad Andre Levesque.

"We've been down to the Bishop Museum and seen some of these insects," Levesque said. "They're really interesting."

READY TO READ

Nine-year-old twins Iwa and Ihi Teixeira had come in from Wai'anae for the presentation, and were already signed up for the "Catch A Bug" reading program — good news for Kapolei librarian Caroline Coleman.

"We have to keep the kids reading during the summer months so they don't fall behind and are ready when school starts up again," Coleman said. "This is a fantastic turnout."

Good news, too, for "Catch A Reading Bug" program coordinator Tish Aragaki, youth services librarian at the Hawai'i State Library, who said her own reading interests include scientific topics and nonfiction.

"I was an anthropology undergraduate and took classes in entomology just for fun," Aragaki said. "... It was exciting to set up this program with the Bishop Museum."

And are now on display