 Japanese
rhinoceros beetle, Japanese horned beetle, or Kabutomushi,
甲虫、兜虫, かぶとむし, Trypoxylus dichotomus - A species of
rhinoceros beetle found in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.
It is sold as a pet in department stores in Japan and Korea,
where it is also frequently depicted in popular media as a
common cartoon character for various uses, for example much
as cartoon bears, lions, or alligators are seen in
advertisements and product labels in the United States.
Kabutomushi are a very popular subject in gambling, like
Siamese fighting fish and cricket fights. In the most
popular game, two different male beetles are placed on a
log. The two beetles will battle each other, trying to push
each other off the log, the one to stay on the log is the
winner. This is a huge source and loss of money to many
people, especially in the Ryukyu Islands.
Many children of Japan and Korea will buy, or catch, these
bugs, including stag beetles, and breed them. At hardware
stores, males will cost about 350-1000 yen, (around three to
ten US dollars) while the females cost much less. The reason
females cost less is because they have no horns at all.
Another popular beetle is the atlas beetle, which can cost
more than 10,000 yen(about a hundred US dollars.) Male
beetles will usually die in the fall after mating many
times, and the female will die after laying eggs. The eggs
are laid in a piece of rotting wood, or in the ground. The
eggs hatch into larva, which usually mature in a year.
Japanese scientists are trying to find supplements to make
them mature faster, and turn out bigger. Disturbing the
beetle during its pupa stage is known to cause deformations
in the beetles appearance.
Information source: “Japanese rhinoceros beetle.”
wikipedia.org. Article date: 16 Feb. 2008. Retrieved:
Wikipedia. 16 Feb. 2008 <Japanese
rhinoceros beetle>. |
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