An insect that grows up to 15 centimeters in length may just be a good way to irritate many, but the ”lucanus cervus judaicus,” or stag beetle, is a hero for Japanese children. The insect”s popularity is opening a new door for German and Japanese traders, who are now searching for the lucrative beetle in Turkey”s Amanos Mountains, reported the Anatolia news agency last week.
The Amanos Mountains in southern Turkey is the natural habitat of the stag beetle, drawing German contractors to the area to buy the beetle from local villagers for $3-20. The beetle is then sold to Japanese buyers for around $3,000. Japanese traders are now struggling to lower the cost of the beetle by buying it directly from villagers and eliminating the German intermediaries.
The stag beetle has become an icon for Japanese children because of the popular video game, cartoon, and card game “Mushiking: The King of Beetles.” The game is the story of a stag beetle and a child elf trying to protect their forest from an attack by “big and strong” beetles.
Leave the stag beetle alone
The head of Amanos Environment Protection and Solidarity Association, Nazım Sönmez, is worried about unconscious beetle hunting. The association”s only aim is to assert Turkey”s values, and to stop the trade in stag beetles, Sönmez said. The association has not received any final decisions from the Environment and Forestry Ministry. “We watch the contention over annuity between Germans and Japanese with worry,” he said.
Traders go to unbelievable lengths to transport the beetles internationally, such as medicating them in order to make the beetles sleep for 20 hours and sticking them on cards to appear as a beetle collection to avoid the suspicion of customs officers, Sönmez said. The stag beetle can live for two months and is generally kept by children in special boxes. They could also be used as key ring or ornaments after their death.
Domestic News – Resource: Turkish Daily news
