JapanProbe Friends - Featured Members


Bug breeder cashes in on Japanese beetle-mania

June 3rd, 2008 by James

With summer on the way, it’s about time for Japanese kids to go out and hunt for pet beetles. Some seek out the creatures in their natural habitat, while others go to stores and buy some of the beetles shipped to Japan by Colombian bug breeder German Viasus:

Viasus seems to feel as much affection for the insects as do his Asian clients, possibly because his business, which is approved by both Colombian and Japanese governments, is so lucrative. He ships 300 giant beetles a month that retail for as much as $350 each in Tokyo pet stores.

“The beetles have a personality and know those of us who take care of them,” Viasus said. “They are calm around us, but like dogs they get nervous around strangers or if they think someone is going to hurt them.”

Viasus smiled as half a dozen of the dark brown creatures ranged over his shirt. “If I produced 1,000 beetles a day,” he said, “I could sell them all.”

Read the full story in the LA Times.



Related Posts:
 

Japanese Fans Driving Turkish Stag Beetle Towards Extinction

Beetle Given Government Protection

Beetle Sumo Tournament Held In Kagoshima

Video: Giant Japanese beetle robot

Valentine’s Day 2009 roundup


RSS feed | Trackback URI

7 Comments »

Comment by Vince
2008-06-04 00:42:41

I’d name mine “Ringo”

Rate this comment: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

 
Comment by Koichi
2008-06-04 04:02:23

I dunno if I’d pay $350 for a beetle. It’s really weird how much of a craze bugs are in Japan. They should just stick with their mushi king game.

I wonder how long these bugs live for…I mean, maybe they supposedly act like dogs, but how long do they live for? Anyone know?

Rate this comment: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

 
Comment by athril
2008-06-04 06:01:51

I seriously doubt that these bugs have personality or anything besides instincts to go by for that matter…

Rate this comment: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

 
Comment by reptile
2008-06-04 11:06:27

Are the beetles actually THAT big? If so *shudders*

Rate this comment: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

 
Comment by Dan - Minneapolis
2009-08-13 01:23:14

The smaller replica destroys roses and farmers fields. The Japanese Beetle is literally doing millions of dollars worth of damage to crops and ornamental flowers all over the country. It should be illegal to bring these into the US. Pee Wee should be sued for bringing these damaging creatures into the US.
Dan – Minneapolis

Rate this comment: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment. (Please close your HTML tags.)

If your comment isn't showing up, it's probably stuck in the spam filter or in moderation. Instead of typing the same comment over and over and sending it, contact us. Most comments are visible within a few minutes of their posting.
This site is not an open forum: we have rules. Read our discussion policy for more details.

Trackback responses to this post