Taiwan's island endemic insects- Troides magellanus and Xylotrupes gideon
Troides magellanus is one of the large butterflies of Taiwan‚ an island known as the Butterfly Kingdom. The male can have a wingspan of 15 cm and wing width of 10 cm. The Troides magellanus is only found on Lanyu. The front wing is black while the back wing is golden. Under some light rays‚ the back wings of the male has a red‚ green and blue pearl luster. Through its life the Troides magellanus undergoes complete metamorphosis. The larva is very colorful and eats mainly Aristolochia zollingeriana. The chrysalis is a hanging chrysalis that hangs on a silk thread. The mature insect is most active March-April and September-October‚ with the Common Cerberus Tree main source of nectar. The Troides magellanus flies quite slowly in comparison to other butterflies‚ at a speed of 4-5 kmh. As a result of Aristolochia zollingeriana became less plentiful due to the opening up of land for farming and their beauty making them the target of butterfly sellers‚ the Troides magellanus has fallen dramatically in number.
 Troides magellanussourceThe Xylotrupes Gideon rhinoceros beetle‚ also called the Lanyu Ji Dou Insect‚ is an insect endemic to Taiwan‚ found on Lanyu‚ Green Island‚ with scattered distribution in Taitung County. The male has horns while the female doesn’t. The biggest difference between the Xylotrupes Gideon and the Japanese Rhinoceros beetle is the horns and the pronotum; the front horns on the head are shorter and the pronotum is upraised and has a fork shaped protuberance. Each generation lives one year. The adults hatch in spring and summer every year and are active April-July‚ eating mainly the sap of the Griffith's Ash. They are attracted by light and in summer quite a few can be seen under street lights. The Xylotrupes Gideon undergoes complete metamorphosis in its life. Its eggs are white ball with a diameter of 0.3cm‚ laid in rotten wood or humus. The larva is known in Taiwanese as the “chicken mother worm‚” the body of which is milk white‚ the head brown‚ that eats mostly humus. The larva stage lasts for about 78 days. When the larva is mature‚ it will shed it skin and reveal its pupal cell‚ a process known as pupation. The pupal period last around 18 days; when it ends the chrysalis is cast off‚ revealing the adult insect the wings of which are still soft. It crawls to the surface and waits for its back wings to be filled with bodily fluid‚ at which time it is ready for action.
Xylotrupes Gideonsource | 
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