In the previous post, I wrote that rhinoceros beetles became a popular pet in Japan in 1960’s. Then the next topic should be: When stag beetles became popular? As previous, I checked books that instruct how to care animals and insects from 1960’s to access this question. All the books shown here are accessible in the National Diet Library and the International Library of Children’s Literature in Tokyo (all written in Japanese).

The history can be divided into 5 periods.

1. Stag beetles were only a supporting player of rhinoceros beetles (until around 1970)
2. Stag beetles were recognized as pets (from around 1970)
3. Stag beetles became popular insects(from mid 1970’s)
4. Dorcus hopei binodulosus attracted adult amateurs (from mid 1980’s)
5. Importation of some foreign stag beetles became legal (from 1999) *This is not in the scope of this post.

I will explain 1.and 2. in this post and the others in another post.

1. Stag beetles were only a supporting player of rhinoceros beetles (until around 1970)
Several tens of pets were appeared in books that instruct how to care them. Even in a pet boom around 1970, I could not find a section of stag beetles in those books. Stag beetles only appeared in a few books in the section of rhinoceros beetles.

For example, in 『ペットの飼い方:海水魚からチンパンジーまで』 (1966) and 『ペットの捕り方飼い方馴らし方 』 （1971）, stag beetles were introduced in the section of rhinoceros beetles. Those books just simply introduced stag beetles as a member of the scarab beetle group as well as rhinoceros beetles and having similar ecology.

Although stag beetles seemed not popular as pets, they were likely popular for children enjoying bug hunting. The book 『教材昆虫小動物飼育法 』 （1971） wrote that “longicorn beetle, as well as rhinoceros beetles and stag beetles, much attract children.” It seems that stag beetles were already popular among children, but anyone was not sure how to care them.

2. Stag beetles were recognized as pets (from around 1970)
An individual section explaining how to care stag beetles appeared in books published around 1970. The contents were not only how to care adult stag beetles.　Ecology of the insect and how to care larva were instructed in detail.

The book  『甲虫の観察と飼育:カブトムシ,カミキリ,クワガタ,コガネムシ,オサムシ,テントウムシ,など甲虫類の観察と飼育法』（1972） wrote ecological facts that 1) the insect lives in broad-leaved forest but not in conifer forest, 2) larva  live in decayed wood, were introduced. Our current practices, 3)feed larvae in a bottle filled with crushed decayed wood and 4)Only one larvae should be allocated in one bottle, were already written in this book.

The book 『昆虫の飼い方II』 （1975） has sections of Dorcus hopei binodulosus and Dorcus rectus rectus. In the section of Dorcus hopei binodulosus, other species Dorcus titanus pilifer,  Prosopocoilus inclinatus inclinatus, Lucanus maculifemoratus maculifemoratus and Aesalus asiaticus asiaticus were also mentioned. The book also instructs how to care larva of Dorcus hopei binodulosus in detail. This may be the first book that instructed how to care Dorcus hopei binodulosus, which is the most popular domestic stag beetle species in Japan.

I will write topic 3. to 5. in another post.

References:
主婦と生活社、『ペットの飼い方:海水魚からチンパンジーまで』(1966)
中川志郎、『ペットの捕り方飼い方馴し方』（1971）
松沢寛、『教材昆虫小動物飼育法 』（1971）
林長閑、『甲虫の観察と飼育:カブトムシ,カミキリ,クワガタ,コガネムシ,オサムシ,テントウムシ,など甲虫類の観察と飼育法』（1972）
森内茂・永井正身、『昆虫の飼い方II』（1975）