even some genera await description.
They voice doubts about whether some
currently recognised species are real or
just variations on something else.
Avoiding pitfalls
In a recent scientific paper, two experts,
Chris Reid and Max Beatson, warned
that over-collecting poses a threat
to some Australian stag beetles. My
concern about this guide is that, while it
encourages readers to ‘behave ethically’,
it recommends that tomahawks be used
to hack open logs, and explains how
to set pitfall traps that drown beetles
in small buckets containing a vinegar-
water mix. These traps
kill invertebrates indiscriminately, with
stag beetles a tiny percentage of the take.
When professional biologists use traps,
they submit most of the dead to research
institutions. I don’t believe hobbyists
should be encouraged to set such traps or
to smash open logs.
This book will find a ready market in
Japan, where it could inspire even more
smuggling. Unfortunate as that is, for
some species there may also be a ‘shiny
side’. Species that are bred and sold as
pets overseas are, at least, unlikely to face
extinction. Regrettably, our stag beetlesare valued more in Japan than here,
but we hope that this new guide will
kindle enthusiasm for these hidden,
living jewels here at home.FLICK, SCROLL
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Photo: Martin CohenHANGAY G & DE KEYZER, R. 2017.
Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia, CSIRO Publishing,
Melbourne. $49.95The Norfolk Island
species (L. aenea) is
a brilliantly coloured
species that has
suffered greatly from
habitat loss and poor
forestry management in
its natural environment.
However, it is bred in
large numbers for the
pet trade in Japan and
Taiwan, so is unlikely
to go extinct. Photo:
Roger de Keyzer
Wildlife Australia | 47