Lucanidae spp.

Basic information
Scientific name	Lucanidae spp.	Click to magnify
Lower taxa	Dorcus titanus subsp., Prosopocoilus inclinatus inclinatus, etc.
Common names	Stag beetles
Higher taxon	Lucanidae, Scarabaeoidea, Coleoptera
Natural range	Totally ca. 1200 species are distributed worldwide.
Habitat	Usually forest. Some tropical species could overwinter in Japan.

Invasion information
Range in Japan	There are established populations of Prosopocoilus inclinatus inclinatus on Okinawajima Is. (Okinawa Islands) and Dorcus titanus subsp. on Miyakojima Is. (Sakishima Islands). In addition, there are many records for non-native stag beetles (especially Dorcus spp.) and hybrid with native species.
Origin	Worldwide species have been imported to Japan. Several species of Dorcus from East and Southeast Asia, are especially popular in Japan.
Date	Constantly imported to Japan
Route	Deliberate: Release or escape of pet animals.
Impact	Actually: Competition and hybridization with native species. There have been several records of escapes in Japan. An experiment indicated that fertile hybrids can be produced by mating between Japanese and Southeast Asian subspecies of Dorus titanus. Potentially: Carrying parasites (mites). Damages on agriculture.
Regulation in Japan	Release of stag beetles in Aichi Prefecture is controled by a prefectural ordinance. South African genus Colophon is listed in Appendix III of CITES.
Introduced range in other countries	Unknown.

Reference

Notes

DECO (ed) (2006) Dictionary of Alien Species. Tokyo-Shoseki, Tokyo (in Jpn)
Ecol Soc Jpn (ed) (2002) Handbook of Alien Species in Japan. Chijinshokan, Tokyo (in Jpn)
Fujioka (2001) A list of Japanese Lamellicornia. KOGANE Supplement. The Japanese Society of Scarabeoideans, Tokyo, Japan (in Jpn)
Goka (2004) Ecological risks caused by commercialization of exotic stag beetles. Biological Science (Tokyo). 56(2), 69-73 (in Jpn)
Goka et al. (2004) Biological invasion caused by commercialization of stag beetles in Japan. Global Environ Res. 8(1), 67-74.
JWRC (ed) (2008) A Photographic Guide to the Invasive Alien Species in Japan. Heibonsha, Tokyo (in Jpn)
Kameoka & Kiyono (2004) A Survey of the Rhnoceros Beetle and Stag Beetle Market in Japan. Traffic East Asia-Japan, Tokyo.
Murakami & Ishihama (eds) (2010) Ecology of Introduced Organisms - Adaptive Evolution into New Environments and Possible Counter Measures -. Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan, Tokyo (in Jpn)
etc.

Commercialization of stag beetles have caused not only a risk of biological invasion, but also over-exploitation and illegal trades.