Stag and rhinoceros beetles in July?

hello

is it possible to see japanese stag and rhinoceros beetles in july in japan? where are they common and where to look for them?

thanks
snkfreak

They swarm particular old Quercus tree, Kunugi in Japanese, to sip sap.
http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%AF%E3%83%8C%E3%82%AE&hl=ja&prm...
Quercus trees are in everywhere in suburb of central Japan. However, it is said that amateurs of insects keep the place of the particular old Quercus tree secret.
I don't know the places because I'm not an amateur of insects. And I guess it may be too early to find them on Jun.

and is there a chance to watch them in july? nighttime only or also at daytime? does anybody know the places of these beetles and are they common?

Forget about looking for them.
Instead settle for life size realistic replicas of plastic wind up toys that you can take home.

Stag and rhinoceros beetles are very popular, especially for children in Japan (they are good looking, aren't they?). They are not so rare in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu islands, I think. I live in the suburb of southern part of Kyushu and see them coming to my house (they bump the window) every year. July is the best month in my village, however, you must get up early, and kick the appropriate tree. Then the Stag and rhinoceros beetles might fall down from the tree, and you just pick up them :)

Actually, it might be difficult for you to find them without knowing the good point for collection. If you just want to see live stag and rhinoceros beetles, there are many "Insect museums" everywhere in Japan. They exhibit live insects, at least in the summer season. If you want to know further information, feel free to ask here.

@frog1954:

we are staying at least a week in hakata next year around july or august.
can you tell us the good places to see those beetles in nature and how it will be possible for us to access them from hakata by train and then by walking or bus?

that would be really cool. :)

Honestly, I am not a insect collector (which is a very popular hobby in Japan) or know the specific "beetle place" in the northern Kyushu. Although stag and rhinoceros beetles come to my house every year, they are not that many around here :) In Japan they are sold at 500 yen or so at the street shop of the festivals (for children) which means that they are somewhat hard to find for normal persons like me :)

By the way, rhinoceros beetles are very popular so that one can not specify the appropriate address for the collection in the Internet: If someone writes the info, the beetles might be caught in eccessive numbers.

Therefore I searched the Internet and found several opportunities to see the beetles around Fukuoka.

1. Stay at a Japanese onsen ryokan and take an attraction.

Mifuneyama kanko Hotel in Takeo onsen, Saga prefecture seems to be a nice Japanese inn (as judged from the Rakuten user ratings), which provides a morning tour for Kabutomushi (rhinoceros beetle) collection.

http://www.mifuneyama.co.jp/

The website is in Japanese but I think you can e-mail them. I think the Hotel person will be pleased that some foreign people are interested in Japanese beetles.

info@mifuneyama.co.jp

The rates are 10000 to 15000 yen per person including dinner and breakfast, if two of you are staying on weekdays.

You can go to Takeo-onsen via train.

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=HAKATA&arv_node...

2. Bus tour

I found this tour, but it might not be interesting for you because this is not the "nature tour" but you can see the Kabutomushi farm.

http://www.daiichikanko.com/tour/result.html

Bus tour is 5980 yen per person and starts from JR Hakata station Chikushi-Guchi exit.

3. The insect musium

Tabira Konchu Shizen-en (Tabira Insect and nature open-air musium) in Hirado city, Nagasaki prefecture.

http://www.city.hirado.nagasaki.jp/city/info/prev.asp?fol_id=3098

They have rhinoceros beetles in their field, but I am not sure whether you can see them in the opening hours (900-1700) since rhinoceros beetles are hard to see in the daytime.

You can go via JR and Matsuura railway.

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=HAKATA&arv_node...

Anyway, are you from Taiwan? I hear insect collection is also popular in Taiwan.

@frog1954: sorry,iam from germany, not taiwan.^^

do you know if these beetles can also be observed in august? perfect would it be if we can make a nigth stay near a forest area where we can go out and look for these beetles in the evening and morning.

When I was a pre-teen /early teen growing up in Southern France we could see stag beetles in the summer in rural areas. But they were few and in between!
they were very very hard to see and even harder to catch.
I think that the best chances to see them was in the darkening evening, sitting outside the house near a chestnut tree, with an oil lamp on the table.

It is easier to find clover with 4 leaves than stag beetles!
why are you so obsessed by them anyway?

snkfreek,

sorry,iam from germany, not taiwan.^^
do you know if these beetles can also be observed in august? perfect would it be if we can make a nigth stay near a forest area where we can go out and look for these beetles in the evening and morning.

No worry. Rather I am happy to know some westerners like insects! I thought it might be only asian people who like insects.

do you know if these beetles can also be observed in august? perfect would it be if we can make a nigth stay near a forest area where we can go out and look for these beetles in the evening and morning.

In my place (Kagoshima prefecture, 100 m high, country side), the peak is the end of July/ the beginning of August. But Mifuneyama Kanko Hotel guarantees you can get stag beetle.

Red frog,

When I was a pre-teen /early teen growing up in Southern France we could see stag beetles in the summer in rural areas.

Southern France! The home of the famous entomologist, Henri Fabre! Perhaps he is the most famous French in Japan. Almost everyone knows his name and more than half might have read his book "Souvenirs entomologiques" (ƒtƒ@�[ƒuƒ‹�©’Ž‹L�j.

The early July is ok, though they are smaller.

I don�ft know much about Kyushu but I researched for you and it seems that the Sawara Ward on the side of Mt. Sehuri is promising. There are some natural forests remaining in those area. Look for Kunugi(Quercus acutissima), or Konara (Quercus serrata) trees.

These beetles are nocturnal and finding them during the day is near impossible. The best chance is to wake up around 4-7am and look for them drinking away tree saps with flashlight. How you get to the Sawara area in the early morning hour... is something you have to think about. If you don't have a car, the best bet is to look for camping site in those mountains.

I used to walk around the forest during the daytime and look for those trees, and make sure they have saps running off the barks. Go back in the morning and they are feasting most of the time. Mosquitoes are your enemy so be prepared.

While Rhino/Stag beetles are common in the countryside of Japan, those in the northern Kyushu seem to be becoming rare in the recent years. So good luck to you!

@jomonstrider: did you check it out these days for me and did you find some beetles? thanks a lot.we are going to stay the first 8 days in tokyo area, then 5 days kyoto area and the last 6 days fukuoka area. thats our plan for 2013.^^

are there any other beetle areas which can be better accessed? can we get by train to Sawara Ward?

Hey snkfreak,

I live in the city now, and I have no idea how things are these days. I also really don't know much about Kyushu. Checking on info from google, the Sawara Ward is fairly remote and it doesn't seem to have hotels and restaurants. The only transportation for you is by public bus, operating from 6am to 11pm.

Nishitetsu Bus (from Hakata Station)
http://www.navitime.co.jp/diagram/00089338_t4


I would actually recommdend you to go looking for beetles in Kyoto. My older brother once took me to the hillside behind Kyoto University where he was attending, and I captured two female Kabuto during the daytime. I don't remember exactly where was it, but you can always try asking these students.

If you have some times in Kyoto, I also recommend Mt. Hiei. They have beatiful hilltop temples, and views, and natural forests.

On "Hiei-zan Driveway", these is a place called "House of Kabutomushi". They'll open from 7/21 (the first day of summer breaks) this year, but it seems that they accept early enterance by appointment, as I see them on their blog.

To get to Mt. Hiei, you can take Kyoto Bus or Keihan Bus companies, or you can use ropeway or cable train from Biwa Lake side.

Mt. Hiei Driveway
http://www.hieizan-way.com/guide_beetle.html

House of Kabutomushi Blog
http://blog.koreikura.com/hieizan-way/category/547
(three male kabuto on the head of a boy on 6/28!)

You probably have better chance finding beetles around this area than Kyushu, and this House of Kabutomushi has a breeding program for Hercules Beetles. You cannot miss that!

Hokkaido is the best place to see the beetles, both average and the big Rhinocerous beetles. We call them "pincherbugs" mostly seen all summer. I lived there for 3 years and we had the bugs on window and door screens all the time. Kids liked to collect them for fun.

will it also be possible to find these stag and rhinoceros beetles during august? my friend and i we are travelling to japan from august 10th to september 2nd.

some specific places where to look would be great and they should be accessible by train from tokyo, kyoto or hakata.

someone out there who can help?

August is fine.

I know a place in Tokyo city itself where you can catch rhino beetles with no trouble. You will find lots of them at Kinuta Park in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. Take a look at someone's blog;

http://tsubomi.tamaliver.jp/e212133.html

My friend took his sons to the park a couple of times at around dawn time this summer and showed me about a dozen rhino beetles they caught. I think stags, especially big ones, are rarer.

The closest train station will be Yoga station on the Tôkyû Den-en-toshi Line. The earliest train from Shibuya is at 5:05AM and the ride is about 15 minutes. I think it will be a good idea to smear some molasses on oak trees the previous night. Also a good idea to ask some eleven year old boy in the park the previous day if they know a good tree where you will find "Kabutomushi".

You will also find that a lot of hotels and inns in prefectures neighboring Tokyo (Yamanashi, Kanagawa, Chiba, etc) have rhino and stag beetle tours as family attraction. You may want to schedule a night at one of these inns.

ok that sounds good but is the source reliable?

The park is in my neighborhood. I have seen lots of people go there to catch rhino beetles with their kids every summer. That's all I can tell you.

that sounds great and august is a good time, should we visit in the early morning?