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Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle
BeginnerProsopocoilus inclinatus yakushimaensis
A subspecies of the Japanese saw stag beetle restricted to Yakushima. The mandibles are short and strongly bowed sideways, the large-toothed form appears at around 50mm, and most individuals are a bright red with strongly reddish elytra.
Difficulty
Beginner
Temperature
18〜24℃
Lifespan
2-3 months once active (adults overwinter in the pupal cell after emergence)
Size
Males 25.0-69.3mm, females 22.7-35.0mm
Humidity
60〜80%
Diet
Beetle jelly (sap of sawtooth oak, tabunoki and citrus in the wild); larvae on fermented substrate or fungus bottles
About
The Yakushima saw stag beetle (Prosopocoilus inclinatus yakushimaensis) lives on Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture and was described by Naoki Adachi in 2014 in KOGANE no. 15. Males measure 25.0-69.3mm and females 22.7-35.0mm. The Yakushima and Tanegashima populations were long treated as an island form of the nominate subspecies until study of the body and genitalia separated the Yakushima population as a new subspecies. Compared with the nominate form the male mandibles are shorter and bow more strongly to the sides. The large-toothed form can appear at around 50mm, and in that form the largest inner tooth points slightly backwards. The body has some gloss, less than in the other Osumi subspecies, and is a bright red with markedly reddish elytra. Both sexes are broad and oval. Adults fly from June to September with a peak in mid-July, gather at the sap of sawtooth oak, tabunoki and citrus as well as street lights and banana traps, and are common on Yakushima from the lowlands up to about 500m.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lifespan of the Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle
The Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle lives 2-3 months once active (adults overwinter in the pupal cell after emergence).
Size of the Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle
The Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle grows to Males 25.0-69.3mm, females 22.7-35.0mm.
Temperature & humidity for the Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle
The ideal temperature for the Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle is 18〜24℃.
Basic Info
Origin
Care Specifications
AggressiveSolitaryBreeding: Easy
Sources: Wikipedia (Prosopocoilus inclinatus, ja) / BE-KUWA rearing records (2025 edition, Mushi-sha)
Breeding Records & Localities
Captive record (♂)
72.7 mm
Wild record (♂)
69.3 mm
Record source: BE-KUWA 2025 edition (Yakushima saw stag: captive 72.7 mm, Shinomiya Takuma, registered 2025; wild 69.3 mm, Tanaka Yuji). Japanese Wikipedia gives an older captive maximum of 67.0 mm and a wild maximum of 69.3 mm collected in July 2009.
Notable localities
Yakushima
Generation codes
- WD
- Wild-caught
- WF1
- Offspring of a wild-caught female
- F1〜
- Captive generations (same locality)
- CBF1
- Cross-locality captive-bred (reset)
Sources: BE-KUWA rearing records (2025 edition, Mushi-sha) / Wikipedia (Prosopocoilus inclinatus, ja)
References & Sources
Edited & verified by: BreederDirect editorial team
The taxonomic, regulatory, and husbandry data on this page are compiled and verified against the authoritative primary sources below.
Taxonomy & Authority
Accepted name: Prosopocoilus inclinatus yakushimaensis Adachi, 2014
Authority databases: GBIF
Nomenclature follows global taxonomic authority databases.
Regulations & Conservation Status
Not CITES-listed
Sources: CITES Appendix (checklist.cites.org)
Regulations may change. Always verify the latest information with the relevant authorities.
Yakushima Saw Stag Beetle Listings
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