One in every five animals on earth a beetle, says author
Published on: Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: One in every five animals on earth is a beetle, says Dr Steven Bosuang, first author of the book 'A Guide to Beetles of Borneo', co-authored by Datuk CL Chan and Dr Arthur Chung, which was launched Tuesday at the Kinabalu Hyatt Regency. Bosuang said there are an estimated 400,000 species of beetles worldwide but in preoccupation with large animals such as elephants, orangutan etc, small insects which are rare, endemic and abound in Borneo are often forgotten.Guest of honour and Board of Directors of Gardens By the Bay Singapore, Tan Jiew Hoe, agreed: "It is acknowledged that beetles have the most mind-boggling diversity within the insect world but grossly understudied hence long term research to study and catalogue previously unnamed species proceeds only slowly." ADVERTISEMENT As such, Tan said he was "not surprised" that Borneo, despite "its incredible biodiversity in plants and animals, has truly little documentation of its beetles." "The guide serves to describe the wonders of some of the most colourful and strangely shaped beetles, with simple descriptions, notes on habitat, ecology and distribution aimed at the layman," Tan said. Bosuang hailed Sabah in particular as site of one of the richest diversity of rare and endemic beetles in the world because of its high mountains, especially the Crocker Range, he said.However, he underscored this happy book launch with a word on the usual wildlife scourge that "illegal insect trading in the State has become increasingly serious and poses a threat to the rare and endemic forms."ADVERTISEMENT He singled out three important and spectacular beetle family groups for highlight " The Stag Beetles; The Flower Beetles and The Longhorned Beetle. "The Stag Beetles are the most famous where the males are easily recognisable by their over-sized mandibles but mandibles of the females are very small."
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Of 140 species of Stag beetles recorded in Sabah and of the total recorded in Borneo, 70pc occur in Sabah and most of them are only active at night, seldom day time, he noted . Beauty wise, The Flower Beetles, most of them metallic green, black and red, are easy winners, he added. In contrast, 95% of the 120 species of The Flower Beetles found in Sabah are active during the day with a few species sporting very impressive long horns on the head and thorax. The Longhorned Beetles are among the most multi-coloured beetles characterised by their long antennae 60pc of which are active in the day."In 1980, there were about 1,200 species recorded from Borneo 800 of which came from Sabah," Bousang said.The estimate is Borneo has 2,500 species and Sabah houses at least 2000 of them, many of which are endemic to the State, he said.But the down side is that the Longhorned beetles are known to be "serious pests" of timber trees in Sabah.On why it is important for the public to learn more about beetles and conserve them, the reason is many rare and endemic species are "losing their habitats while some are facing extinction," he said.Therefore support is a "must" for scientists who study beetles resulting in the discovery of many species new to science in recent years from this hard work. Chan described the writing and production of the book was "a long journey" howbeit "a enjoyable one" with all three authors and co-authors agreeing to focus on the large, more common and attractive forms while Bosuang was the key photographer who shot them with easy user identification on mind."As a result, the 252-page book highlights some of Borneo's most attractive, largest, rarest and often brilliantly coloured beetles, according to him. On practical importance, Chan said beetles in the form of sago grubs known as Butod in Kadazan is an important source of protein for locals while introduction of a 3-4mm long weevil in 1981 to Sabah from Africa as pollinators had increased oil palm yields many folds, Chan claimed. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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The Japanese started breeding the rhinocerous and Stag beetles half a century ago followed by the Taiwanese and breeding of other spectacular species found across the world like the giant South American beetles, highly metallic Australian stag beetles and the African flower beetles are becoming popular in the ever flourishing trade. The Bornean species, such as the Three-horned Rhinocerous beetles are commonly available in larva form in different stages in Taipei insect shops where owners claim they were imported from Kalimantan where commercial collectors abound, Chan said. - Kan Yaw Chong