Education minister urges stronger conservation awareness as new book documents 242 stag beetle species across Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo.
IPOH: Education in the biological sciences is crucial to protecting stag beetles and their natural habitats, including through the preservation of primary forests and the establishment of more man-made or semi-urban rainforest ecosystems such as wetland reserves, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
He said greater public awareness should also be fostered through campaigns promoting local conservation initiatives, including the butterfly farms in Penang and Melaka, to encourage stronger community support for biodiversity conservation.
“The MADANI Government fully recognises the importance of conserving our rainforests while ensuring that development is carried out in a sustainable manner.
“At the same time, we are committed to promoting the study of biology among students to nurture greater interest in entomology. I am confident that Malaysia will continue to produce more outstanding biologists, foresters, zoologists and veterinarians,” he said in his speech at the launch of the book Stag Beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo here today.
His speech was delivered by Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman Marzuki.
Meanwhile, the book’s author, Dr Adib Vincent Tung Abdullah, said the publication is the culmination of his extensive study of virtually all known Malaysian lucanid collections from the Malay Peninsula, including Singapore, as well as the entire island of Borneo, covering Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
“In other words, this book documents all known stag beetle species found in the region, complete with updated taxonomic information, distribution ranges, life histories, habits and habitat descriptions,” he said.
The author has illustrated more than 200 species of stag beetles in full colour and life-size out of the total of 242 species known to occur in this region.
The extensive introduction contains a wealth of authoritative information on the natural history of stag beetles including their ecology, behaviour. classification and inter-relationships with man.
Practical details are given on rearing, and the techniques for setting up and maintaining a collection are described.
