This lifeform is found in the Orient (China, Japan, Korea). This lifeform is found widely in the Indo-Australian region.

Stag Beetles, family Lucanidae, are characterized by a large pair of mandibles (pinchers) and unusual feather tipped antennae that are always jointed or bent in the middle. The larvae feed on tree roots, primarily of the hardwood group. Many of the species in this family, especially those found from India to Australia, have magnificent pinchers and are a great favorite with scientists who collect and study beetles.

There are probably over one thousand species in this family.  Several distinct adult forms (polymorphism) are frequently found in this family. When one first sees a series of the same species ranging from small males with small underdeveloped mandibles to giant males with overdeveloped mandibles, one usually assumes that these are just young and mature specimens. However, since Lucanidae undergo a metamorphosis and the emerged adults do not grow, one must understand that a single species can produce a whole series of different forms.

Ever since the time of Darwin this family has attracted biologists in their quest for definition of the concept of species. One of the most important publications in this regard was Franz Leuthner's "Monograph of The Odontolabini," published in December, l883 and republished in English by the Zoological Society of London in l885. In 1953, Didier and Seguy published a list (Volume XXVII of the French Encyclopedie Entomologique) of the world's known species (1086 of them) and some line drawings of some of the larger and more exotic forms.

A Mr. Benesh of Chicago immediately followed that publication with a complete literature listing of all the world's species (984 of them). The differences mostly being attributed to reducing and raising various forms to species and subspecies levels.

Exciting work is still going on in this family as evidenced by the wonderful color book by Jean-Pierre Lacroix called IV  Odontolabini published in l984 in France with text in German, French, and English. Recently, a magnificent book on this family was published in Japan.

Beetles (Order Coleoptera) are a diverse group of insects found throughout the world. They usually can fly and typically have four wings. Two of the wings are hardened (elytra) and serve as a body cover to protect the flying wings and abdomen. Beetles begin their life as a larvae or grub that goes through a metamorphosis that turns this worm-like creature into an adult with six legs and four wings. There probably are over 500,000 species of beetles in the world. However, that number is only conjecture as the United States does not have a complete list of its known species.

The United States has relatively few exotic beetles. However, countries like Brazil, Mexico, Ghana, Zaire, Malaysia, and Peru have many beautiful beetles.  

Exotic beetles are such a fascination in Europe and Japan that they are collected much as coins are collected throughout the rest of  the world.

Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000.

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

   Odonata:      Dragon and Damsel Flies
   Orthoptera:   Grasshoppers and Mantids
   Homoptera:    Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
   Diptera:      Flies and Mosquitoes
   Hymenoptera:  Ants, Wasps, and Bees
   Lepidoptera:  Butterflies and Moths
   Coleoptera:   Beetles

Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:

   Arachnida:      Spiders and Scorpions
   Crustacea:      Crabs and Crayfish
   Chilopoda:      Centipedes
   Diplopoda:      Millipedes
   Insecta:        Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

   Sub Phylum Chelicerata

     C. Arachnida:      Spiders and scorpions
     C. Pycnogonida:    Sea spiders (500 species)
     C. Merostomata:    Mostly fossil species

   Sub Phylum Mandibulata

     C. Crustacea:      Crabs and crayfish
      
   Myriapod Group

     C. Chilopoda:      Centipedes
     C. Diplopoda:      Millipedes
     C. Pauropoda:      Tiny millipede-like
     C. Symphyla:       Garden centipedes

   Insect Group

     C. Insecta:        Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.