Beetle is both male and female and has jawline to prove it

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SHIMANTO, Kochi Prefecture–At first, Hiroshi Yokota didn’t notice anything unusual about the stag beetle he was raising, but once he did, he felt the world had to see it.

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The rare beetle, whose left side is male and right side is female, has become a big draw at the Dragonfly Nature Park here.

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Only one in 40,000 of the moseri golden stag beetle is likely to possess the trait, according to a park representative.

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“It took me a month to clue in,” said the 70-year-old resident of Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, of the critter that emerged from pupa in June. “I noticed it had somewhat unbalanced jaws.”

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Life forms with that characteristic are known as gynandromorphs.

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The species is officially known as Allotopus moellenkampi moseri, normally found in Indonesia and Malaysia.

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The 4-centimeter-long body of the beetle on display is divided clearly between male and female from the center.

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While the left side of its jaw is long, the right side is short.

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Yokota, who is a member of an organization that runs the park and protects dragonflies and nature, decided to gift it to the park so more people can see it.

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Inside its display case, the beetle eats jelly for insects and inches its way along scraps of wood.

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Koharu Yabe, 5, a kindergartener from the area, was impressed.

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“It’s shaped differently from ordinary beetles. It’s great!”

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“It is quite unusual,” said Mitsutoshi Sugimura, managing director of the preservation group to which Yokota belongs. “I hope people connect with the mystery of nature when they see it.”

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Initially, the display was to end Sept. 29, but has been extended until the end of October thanks to the beetle’s popularity.

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