''Dorcus hopei'' is a species of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
in the family
Lucanidae
Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...
(stag beetles), sometimes kept as a
pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...
.
Description
Jet-black in colour, male beetles may reach 80 mm (3.1 inches) long, although females can be up to 48 mm (1.8 inches). Males use their large mandibles to fight with other males for food and mates. Females have smaller mandibles and are used to break down wood when laying their eggs.
Distribution
''D. hopei'' inhabits
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Laos,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
,
China, Korea and
Japan.
The winter season in these countries prompts the larvae to synthesize 6 types of
antifreeze protein
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small ...
s, as it
overwinters
Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...
underground. This species is the first beetle outside of the
Tenebrionoidea
The Tenebrionoidea are a very large and diverse superfamily of beetles.
It generally corresponds to the Heteromera of earlier authors.
Taxonomy
Tenebrionoidea contains the following families:
* Aderidae Winkler 1927 (ant-like leaf beetles) ...
superfamily known to produce antifreeze proteins.
Diet
Like other
stag beetles, this species consumes the liquid of fruits, such as apples.
References
Lucaninae
Beetles described in 1854
Insects of Southeast Asia
Insects of Taiwan
Insects of Thailand
Insects of Vietnam
Insects of India
Insects of Laos
Insects of Japan
{{Lucanidae-stub