Raising a Kabutomushi

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Hello, Navio here. 

Meet my new pet, the rhinoceros beetle! Or as we call it in Japanese, カブトムシ (Kabutomushi).

I got it from a friend of mine which he caught somewhere close to his place.

Bug hunting is really famous among Japanese children, especially boys. It’s an activity that they usually do during the summer holidays.

Did you know that they can lift things 100 times their own weight?

But still, this little dude needs a place to stay. A "house".

The 100円 Shop is the answer. Here are some raising-a-beetle standard kits:

1. 飼育ケース (Shiiku keesu : Raising case.

(From left to right)

2. Soil

3. Water/Jelly holder

4. Nutrient water

5. Insect jelly tank

Let's begin! I'll show you guys how to set the "house" step-by-step:

1. As you can see from the photo above, the rising case looks a little bit different from the first photo, doesn’t it? 

Actually, I bought a rice box and modified it. 

The reason is really simply because the rice box is bigger than the rising case. 

Make sure that you make good ventilation on the lid so that the beetle can breath. 

2. Set the soil inside the case. Roughly 30% of the case.

3. Put the jelly/water holder inside and put some dry wood chips or wood sticks. 

4. All set! Finally, put the beetle inside the case. You might want to be careful when moving the beetle. It might fly away if you don’t hold it correctly. 

Put the nutrient water and the jelly inside and that’s it. 

Feed the beetle once in a day. I think it should be enough. Put the case in a cool place preferably inside a room. A place where it isn’t exposed directly by the sunlight. 

And don’t forget to clean the case, because it might smell bad if you don’t. 

Look at its horn. So cool, right? 

I haven’t named the beetle by the way, any suggestions? 

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