World's largest diving beetles on display in Japan in effort to conserve species

KANAZAWA -- Dytiscus latissimus, the largest living variant of insect in the Dytiscidae family, also known as predaceous diving beetles, are on display from Nov. 16 in locations across Japan including Ishikawa Insect Museum in the Ishikawa Prefecture city of Hakusan.

It is the first time the bugs, which are native to northern Europe, have been exhibited alive in Japan. A representative at the museum commented, "Their bodies are a different shape to the diving beetles in Japan. I want people to see their elegant way of swimming."

The body of a Dytiscus latissimus measures between 38 and 44 millimeters. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists them as vulnerable, and there is a danger of them becoming extinct.

The exhibited insects were caught in Latvia, as part of "ex situ conservation" efforts to try and breed them outside of their usual habitat.

Ishikawa Insect Museum, which has a proud record of discovering new variants of diving beetles and breeding insects of which there are only scarce numbers, is one of three institutions in Japan entrusted with the Dytiscus latissimus. To contact the museum, call: 076-272-3417 (Japanese language).

(Japanese original by Azusa Hinata, Hokuriku General Bureau)