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Ryo Shibata is a 6th grade boy, living in Saitama Pref.
He’s great at doing…
Magic!
No, he’s actually,
a researcher of Beetle whose discovery overturned the commonly accepted theory of Beetle’s activity.
Ryo’s research was published in the academic journal of Ecology in the United States.
"I’m SO surprised."
What new discovery did he make?
Ryo loves watching Rhinoceros Beetles since he was a little kid.
He often went to trees in the neighborhood looking for Rhinoceros Beetles.
But…
"I cried so hard when those Sawtooth Oak trees were cut down.
From then on, I have rarely seen Beetles for 2years and that was my sad times.”
Sawtooth oak trees are gone, Ryo was in sorrow.
But all the sudden
When Ryo was in 4th grade, Beetles were back in an unexpected place.
The place was his garden at home.
Moreover, it wasn’t at the Sawtooth oak tree but at the “Ash tree”, originated in subtropical area.
Also, Ryo found a strange thing.
"I don’t know why but Beetles are gathering during the daytime. I wondered why and started to research."
Originally, Rhinoceros Beetles are known as “Nocturnal”. Then why do they gather at the “Ash Tree” during the daytime?
Ryo started the research to find out.
He recorded the numbers and the timing of males and females visiting the tree every day during summer.
I borrowed every book in the library which includes “Beetle” on its title and looked for the “Ash tree” mentioned.
Then in one book, he found the hint.
"It said 'the reason is unclear but a lot of Beetles gathers on Ash Trees'”
Ryo sent his research project to Mr. Kojima, the author of the book.
Mr. Kojima looked at it and…
”I told him to keep up his research because it was interesting
as scientifically no one has researched the fact, so it’s worth making into a thesis.”
Rhinoceros Beetles are known to be nocturnal,
But the fact Ryo found that the ones on the Ash tree are active during the daytime hasn’t been proved scientifically.
Next year, Ryo was into the research more as he received advice from Mr. Kojima.
"I randomly marked the insects, so I can observe how each beetle comes in and out of the tree."
For midnight, Ryo checked the video his parents took.
Using summer holidays, from dawn to night, Ryo observed beetles 13 times a day at most, and as a result, he took the record of 162 beetles, 100 male and 62 females.
"I was surprised to see how many beetles I marked after everything was finished.”
The research was becoming everyday life to me, and I was enjoying every bit of it.
Ryo’s record proofed Rhinoceros Beetles, known to be nocturnal, are active during the daytime depending on the plants.
Mr. Kojima put them together as a thesis and submitted them to the academic journal “Ecology”. It was accepted with exceptional speed and Ryo’s discovery
was recognized to the world.
"Under the COVD-19 quarantine situation, I couldn't go on vacation and had to stay home...
I was lucky to have Rhinoceros Beetles visited me. Thanks to them, I had a great summer!”