The Death of Beetles
 

Insects have been viewed traditionally with disgust, so therefore it is not uncommon to see the intentional killing of beetles whenever they are encountered by humans. Tourists and mountain residents often kill the beetles that appear under their lamps at night. Equally common is the unintentional killing of beetles. Since most stag beetles are attracted to street lamps at night, thousands are killed each night as vehicles run over those that land on the road. However, like collecting, this is usually a minor problem compared to the threat of habitat destruction.

The Development of Mountains and Clearing of Forests

Like most animals living in the forest, beetles have a hard time adapting to human-disturbed habitats. All stag beetles require rotting wood for food and cannot be found anywhere outside of forests. As human populations increase and the demand for wood and land for agricultural use increases, more and more forests are being leveled worldwide. Everywhere, this leads to the extinction of the beetle populations that are dependent on forest cover. While reforestation may seem like a plausible solution, the trees used for this purpose are usually selected for their commercial and not ecological value; therefore reforested areas may seem like ideal habitat for beetles but in fact contain very few species.

Over-collecting and Protected Species

As more people become interested in beetles, they remove more beetles from the wild. Even though the supply of beetles seem inexhaustible, combined with the other factors mentioned above, over-collecting can be a serious problem. Collectors should be responsible in their collecting. A general rule of thumb is to collect only a male and a female of each species (with some exceptions). Some governments grant specific species of beetles special protection for various reasons. The beetle may already be on the edge of extinction, its survival is severely threatened in some way, or there might be a potential for someone to collect an attractive species in large quantity for business purposes. Therefore, collecting protected species should be avoided whenever possible. Not only because it is breaking the law, but because the beetles are being protected for their own good.

Beetles protected in Taiwan

• Dorcus formosanus Stag Beetle
• Dorcus schenklingi Stag Beetle
• Cheirotonus macleaya formosana Formosan Long-armed Scarab
• Buprestis mirabilis Jewel Beetle
• Campsosternus gemma Click Beetle
• Aeolesthes oenochrous Long-horn Beetle
• Damaster blaptoides hanae Ground Beetle
• Coptolabrus nankotoaijanus miwai Ground Beetle