There is a giant beetle called in Latin America, which is very popular among Japanese people. The Japanese not only imported a large number of E. halberdans from South America as pets, but also used them in beasts. However, my country strictly prohibits the import of P. halberdii, and the customs has also seized many P. halberdii disguised as toys.
As a pet, what are the characteristics of E. halberdii? Why do the Japanese like the halberd worm so much? Why does China ban the introduction of P. halberdii?
P. chinensis
What are the characteristics of P. chinensis?
Euphorbia halberdis is a species endemic to Latin America, but it must have many advantages in order to become a pet acceptable to most people.
(1) Good feed
The first consideration for keeping pets is cost. Although E. halberdii grows two huge pincers, it is a mild vegetarian. In addition to the tender leaves that beetles like to eat, it also likes to eat sugar-rich fruits or tree sap. In countries and regions where E. halberdii can be raised legally, some people even feed the halberd halberd with insect-specific jelly.
In addition to very low feed costs, E. halberdii has relatively low environmental requirements. Only a reptile box rich in humus or a cheap plastic box can be used to live the place for the worm.
The big halberd worm in the crawler box
(2) It will not cause trouble
The second thing to consider is whether it is troublesome to deal with the incidental problems. Compared with mammals as pets, E. halberdum does not need to take a bath or regular care of the fur. It only needs to ensure the supply of food. The key point is that insect excrement such as P. halberdii is particularly easy to handle, not only in a small amount but also without too much odor.
Although the price of a halberd is not necessarily cheaper than a dog,But if you count the cost of cleaning and maintenance of the pet dog, it really doesn't cost much. And after the end of its life, the E. halberdii can be made into insect specimens or other handicrafts.
A large halberd worm made into crafts
(3) Huge size
The last thing to consider when raising a pet is what is unique about it. The most impressive thing about E. halberd is its huge size. Euphorbia halodendron is one of the largest beetles, with the largest being over 18 cm. The body length of P. halberdii was mainly supported by its extremely large "pliers", and its pliers accounted for half of its body length. The big tongs of the halberd worm are not a display, they are mainly used in courtship duels. Only the lower end of the pliers of P. halberdum can move, and the upper one mainly serves as a support and fixation.
Don't look at the weight of P. halberdum is only 150 grams, but it can lift something far more than 850 times its own weight. The halberd worm is also called Hercules ( Dynastes hercules ) because of this characteristic, and Hercules is the Hercules in ancient Greek mythology.
The halberd worm with open wings
Why the Japanese like the halberd worm
The halberd worm can be purchased legally in many countries, why only the Japanese prefer it so much Woolen cloth?
(1) Unique beetle culture
Japanese have a special affection for beetles. Basically, every city has a pet shop that sells beetles. In addition, the beetle image is a common element in Japanese manga, games, and animation. Memories of the childhood of the post-90s generation in China, the robot Kabuda in the Japanese special film " Iron Armor Little Treasure " is a fusion of the shape of a unicorn and a stag beetle.
The beetle-shaped robot in Treasure Armor
Because of their unique love for beetles, the Japanese naturally love the house and Udi and fall in love with the mighty and domineering halberd. The proper term "big pocket worm" was invented by the Japanese. It is called "dou" because the shape of the big pocket worm's head is very similar to móu in Japan during the Warring States Period.
(2) Like fighting insects
Watching animal duels is an entertainment method that has always existed in human society. The common fighting beast projects in my country include , cockfighting and fighting crickets. Japanese people also like to watch fighting. insect. The halberd worm has great strength and strong attack power, so it is naturally selected as a good material for fighting worms. There are many people in Japan who will let their own-bred halberd worm and other people duel activities.
And some economically savvy businessmen even held professional insect fighting games. These people sell tickets to the outside world and broadcast the insect fighting games live on TV. In these fighting insect competitions, there are some halberd worms and their close relatives, the unicorn fairy duel, and there are also some duel arthropods.
P. halberd
Although the merchants have made a lot of money through this curious game, it has caused irreversible damage to the halberd. Euphorbia halberdis is a mild vegetarian. Except for courtship duels, it rarely uses its tongs to attack other animals.
It is too cruel to force it to duel with its own kind and even some invincible opponents. Japanese TV station once broadcasted a duel between the halberd worm and the scorpion. Although the two are similar in size, the halberd worm is obviously weaker than the scorpion in attack. Although some halberd worms won't fall into the wind in duels with similar species, they can't deal with such a ferocious predator as the scorpion.
P. halberd vs. scorpion
In the match, P. halberd was easily overturned by a scorpion with pliers.Because of its inflexible activity, it is difficult to turn over once it is overturned. Seeing that his opponent temporarily lost the ability to attack, Scorpion was not busy making up his knife, but waiting for the halberd worm to get up again. In the fight, the halberd worm was broken by a leg, but no matter how it attacked with its large pliers, it could not penetrate the hard shell of the scorpion. It also cannot lift the scorpion and throw it out like a Hercules.
Purely entertaining beast games are okay to say, but the use of beast performances to make huge profits for yourself is indeed immoral, and such games should be boycotted.
P. halberd vs. Emperor Scorpion
Why does China prohibit entry of P. halberd?
However, compared with the Japanese who have a fanatical hobby for the big beetle, China does not welcome this very unique-looking giant beetle, and even the customs detained many beetle packages sent from Japan.
Just on April 19 this year, Xiamen Customs seized five P. halberdans from the imported parcels. After identifying the five P. halberdans as four females and one male, the buyer is likely to let the five beetles bred.
Five P. halberdans intercepted by Xiamen Customs
China's concern about the damage of the ecological environment by the halberd halberd is not groundless, because the Japanese are crazy about P. halberd. Paid the price for hobbies. In order to make money, the nationals of many small countries in South America ignored the order prohibiting the capture of wild beetles and smuggled them out of the country. Many of them were sold to Japan. The total price of beetles imported by Japan each year is almost as high as tens of billions of yen . Although exotic beetles have enriched the daily pet choices of Japanese people, they also bring many problems.
The most important problem is to carry pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Unlike imported agricultural and sideline products,Imported beetles are not convenient for quarantine. Once these unquarantined imported beetles are released to nature, it is easy for many native species to contract infectious diseases. Without human intervention, almost no native species can survive the ravages of foreign diseases.
To examine the illegal entry of Euphorbia spp.
Second is to squeeze the living space of native species. In order to save trouble, many Japanese beetle players buy multiple male and female beetles at a time, so that they can reproduce larvae by themselves. If you lose interest in the purchased beetles during this period, many irresponsible players will release them to nature. These big, offensive guys are bound to threaten the native beetles, causing their numbers to drop or even be on the verge of extinction.
The last problem is that alien beetles hybridize with native species to produce new species, thereby destroying native species. This is not groundless, because the Japanese have already discovered new species produced by the hybridization of native Stag beetles and Thai Stag beetles.
Flat stag beetle
It is precisely because of the above considerations that my country has banned the entry of P. halodendron. However, even if entry has been strictly prohibited, many beetle players still have a fluke mentality. In order to confuse the customs, many players who bought the halberd from Japan would ask the seller to mark the goods as toys, digital products, etc. into the country. However, these were detected by the X-ray machine during the customs declaration process, and it was useless even to stuff the eggs into the robot toy.
In this regard, I would like to persuade those reptile players who still have the idea of being a worm to stop. Because alien pets actually have nothing special except for their unique appearance. Many native species are not inferior to exotic species in terms of cost performance or appearance. The key is that they are safe and cheap.
Unicorn
In order to protect our native species and maintain the domestic ecological balance, please do not buy or sell any alien creatures that are prohibited from entering the country!
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