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[這篇文章最後由razzle在 2022/07/04 10:58:13pm 第 1 次編輯]H>B
The villagers asked what we were here for. We told them we were looking for giant beetles. It did not make sense to them. Here in rural Africa, food and commodities were the priorities. Why would anyone want beetles? We showed them photos of Goliath Beetles. None of the villagers recognized them. My heart sank. Wasn’t here the home of the Royal Goliath Beetle? Perhaps the locals never paid attention to bugs. Maybe the beetles lived high in the canopy, out of people’s sight. I attempted to overwrite my fear with any excuse I could come up with. But if they were truly here, how could such massive insects not be seen? The two sides of my brain were fighting each other. I was getting very uneasy. Richard took us to what he believed to be one of the trees that harbored Royal Goliath Beetles in 2007. The tree looked very similar to the tree that hosted Goliath Beetles in Bobiri. The barks were smooth and the leaves were small. Richard said the tree definitely had grown in 8 years. However, it was not as tall as the one in Bobiri. If there were Goliath Beetles on it, our insect rods might be long enough. We scanned the tree over and over, from trunk to canopy. We saw nothing. It was our eighth day in Ghana and still not a sign of what we came for. The sun was setting. It was too late to venture into the forest. We decided to do some light trapping at the forest edge. Our mercury vapor lamp not only attracted insects, but also villagers. Many people came to see what was going on. A young man came up to Mac and asked if he remembered him. He introduced himself as Viktor. When Mac visited in 2007, Viktor was a small child. He saw Mac catching Goliath Beetles. Since then, he had been paying attention to these giant insects. Viktor told us that he could meet us tomorrow morning and guide us through the forest. He knew of several trees that attracted Goliath Beetles. A couple hours ago I was in despair. Now I was jumping for joy. What an emotional rollercoaster it had been. With the mind being at ease now, the sensation of hunger creeped in. As we light trapped, there was a nearby household. We borrowed their outside kitchen and sautéed onions and sardines over open fire generated by local firewood. The sizzling sounds, tantalizing aromas, toasty warmth on a chilly evening, and reunification with Viktor most definitely resurrected our previously defeated spirit. After a rejuvenating supper, we drove thirty minutes to the nearest town and found a small motel to stay. As I entered my room, I was on the verge of tears. There was a water heater hanging on the wall. “Holy shit,” I exclaimed. I had had enough cold showers. Was this an omen that our luck was about to take a turn for the better? I could not wait to see what tomorrow would bring. It had been a long time coming. Would I finally meet the Royal Goliath Beetle face to face tomorrow? I sang my way into the bathroom eager to reawaken the long-gone pleasure of the hot shower. But my joy was short lived. I soon discovered the water heater was broken and at this point only decorative, another emotional rollercoaster. I sucked up another cold shower and retreated for the night.Tqdp
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 f#
On our ninth day in Ghana, we met up with Viktor bright and early. He first took us to a young tree about five meters tall. It was not a species of tree that we had seen previously. This tree had medium-sized oval leaves. He told us it was called the Oba Tree, capable of growing taller than 30 meters. Then he had us walk to the other side of the tree and look at the trunk. There was a sap flow. Honeybees, flies, butterflies, and various other insects packed the sap flow in a feeding frenzy. The insects at the edge of the sap flow were busy drinking and defending their spot from outside insects that hadn’t had a chance to feed. “This is the tree of Goliath Beetles. They come to drink the juice,” said Viktor. But this juvenile Oba Tree was too short. Goliath Beetles were highly suspicious and alert animals. They would never visit short trees. You would only see them at sap follows located high on mature Oba Trees. This was the closest we came to Goliath Beetles thus far. Viktor knew the locations of several Oba Trees and he was about to take us through the Forest of Djin Djin to see them. If we were lucky, we would see Royal Goliath Beetles on them. However, Viktor explained, not every Oba Tree had a sap flow at any given time. An Oba Tree only opened a sap flow when it wanted to attract pollinators. We started to wander through the forest. The Oba Tree was not a common tree species. The travelling times between Viktor’s Oba Trees were about 30 to 45 minutes on foot. We visited about six Oba Trees in the morning. The Forest of Djin Djin was even more challenging to explore than Kakum and Bobiri because it was mountainous terrain with numerous steep inclines. Climbing upwards with a backpack, an insect rod, and multiple bottles of water was mentally and physically draining. Our shirts and pants were fully saturated with sweat, which became heavy and cold when wind blew on them. We had to take multiple water breaks. The prospect of finding Goliath Beetles was what kept us going. Every time Viktor told us that we had arrived at an Oba Tree, I would scan the tree with wrenching stomach and pounding heart because I knew a showdown was eminent: either we scream with unprecedented excitement or sag with yet another disappointment. Unfortunately, all of the Oba Trees that we meticulously checked had no Goliath Beetles. There were no active sap flows at this time. We continued to mope around the hills and valleys of the Forest of Djin Djin. At 11:18 a.m., we arrived at what would be the last Oba Tree of the day. Suddenly, Viktor gestured everybody to stop all movements and be quiet. “There is a Goliath Beetle on this tree,” he whispered. What? This was perhaps the most exciting event of my life and I was supposed to not show any excitement? What a paradoxical feeling. I froze on the outside but was boiling inside. Viktor pointed to where the beetle was. I focused with all my might, but could not locate the beetle. The area was too chaotic. There were many interwoven branches and leaves. We didn’t bring any binoculars. Mac, Andy, Q-san, Richard, nobody could see it, except Viktor. We had been hiking all morning. We were tired. We were becoming irritable. Suddenly, the devil within us voiced and it sounded something like this: “Maybe Viktor is making this up. Maybe he is just trying to save face.” At this point, the only way to prove the existence of this beetle was to make it fly. Andy randomly hit the branches with his insect rod. Suddenly, we heard the loudest roaring buzz we had ever heard from an insect in our lives. The panicked Goliath Beetle flew out of the canopy, circled a few times in front of our eyes, as if saying “stupid humans,” and then flew into the distance and disappeared. I about pissed in my pants. Just like that, the beetle that I had been waiting for in all these years few away because of mere impatience. Would I get a second chance? I was so mad at myself.'
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 @wjm7
I was devastated, as were Andy and Q-san. For the next few hours, we sat under the tree like statues. We waited and waited for the Goliath Beetle to return. All kinds of thoughts ran through our head. What if that beetle was a fertile female? She could have started a breeding colony for us. She alone could have saved our entire expedition. What if she was the only Goliath Beetle that we would meet on this trip? Our impatience blew our only chance. My mind was going insane. Oh, it was so agonizing! After sitting under the Oba Tree for 3 hours with no signs of the Goliath Beetle returning, we reluctantly went back to the village to eat late lunch. When we arrived at our car parked at the village with a bottomed out morale at 2:44 p.m., “Who is looking for Goliath?” took us aback. I thought I was hallucinating. Did I hear that right? A villager knew Goliath Beetle? I traced the enigmatic voice to a very slander man about 180 centimeters tall. This was where the line between reality and myth blurred. “My name is David and I hunt Goliath for Europe.” Oh my God, what a coincidence, real-life David and Goliath unfolding in front of my eyes. David had been catching Goliath Beetles and supplying the European insect market for decades. He would catch the beetles and a middle man would buy them and take them to Togo for export to Europe. When he got word that some foreigners actually came to remote Africa in person to look for Goliath Beetles, he had to come check us out. David lived about one hour away from the village on foot in the forest. His full time occupation was a cocoa farmer. “Now is not the season for Goliath. August is the best time,” explained David as our heart sank. However, Royal Goliath Beetles did start to emerge in very small numbers in June. After all, one just flew away. Suddenly, I had an idea to best maximize our chances of obtaining Goliath Beetles. Now that this place definitely had Goliath Beetles, perhaps we could also look for their larvae or cocoons. Nobody knew where the larvae lived or where they constructed their cocoons. But it was presumed that they lived in decayed wood, fed on the larvae of other insects, and constructed their cocoons in the clay directly beneath the decayed wood. After a quick lunch, we borrowed some shovels from the villagers. We divided the team into two. Andy and Q-san would return to the Oba Tree and to wait for the Goliath Beetle to return. Mac and I would go dig for larvae and cocoons. In the beginning, we were enthusiastic and hopeful. I imagined what it would be like to unearth the cocoons like terra cotta warriors. It was heavy labor. The clay was thick and very difficult to excavate beyond a few inches and we had no idea how deep the cocoons resided. Very soon, we were saturated with sweat. Not long after, blisters began to form on our hands. Our arm and back muscles were sore from the nonstop digging motions. My original expectation came to a disappointing halt. Mac and I returned to the Oba Tree to meet up with Andy and Q-san. I was hoping Andy and Q-san would tell me that they had caught the Goliath Beetle. Of course, that did not happen. We all sat like statues again. In the meantime, David told us that he would go check his Oba Trees and meet with us again tomorrow. We sat under the Oba Tree until sunset, but the Goliath Beetle never returned. Back in the motel, my skin began to itch, but it was not a conventional mosquito itch. It was a combination of itch and pain. The more I scratched, the itchier and more painful the sensation got. There was also swelling. I had to use soap as lubrication to remove my wedding ring. I had no idea what bit me. I knew it wasn’t mosquitoes, because I never felt any stinging pain during the day. The itch was very intense. It was very difficult to fall asleep because all I wanted to do was scratch.O[4m+~
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 OQi//
We got up at 5:30 a.m. on our tenth day in Ghana. There was no time to waste. After a quick breakfast, we headed straight for yesterday’s Oba Tree and arrived at 7:42 a.m. Everyone checked the Oba Tree thoroughly. My heart was racing with butterflies in my stomach. However, the Goliath Beetle never returned. We resumed sitting under the tree like statues in fear of any movement or noise might prevent the Goliath Beetle from returning. We sat as motionless as we could until 12:30 p.m. During this time, I figured out what was biting me. They were tiny one-millimeter flying insects called biting midges. Their bites were completely painless initially and would go unnoticed until a few hours later when itch, pain, and swelling began to kick in. The miserable sensation would last about two weeks, way worse than any mosquito bite. My time under the Oba Tree was spent between keeping an eye out for the return of the Goliath Beetle and killing biting midges. The one I wanted never returned while the ones I didn’t poured in endlessly. It was sunny and 27 degrees Celsius today. Between the heat and the biting midges, we thought it was time to go eat lunch and touch base with David. David was already waiting for us in the shade when we returned to the village. Shockingly, he told us that he saw a few Royal Goliath Beetles on an Oba Tree on his way here. Seeing one Goliath Beetle on an Oba Tree would be amazing. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to see several Goliath Beetles on an Oba Tree. In an instant, all the itching dissipated and the sensation of hunger gone. David said the Oba Tree was 30 minutes away. But we knew that would be David’s pace. For us city dwellers, the time would be more like 60 minutes. We all agreed to go to the Oba Tree immediately without stopping to eating lunch. We munched on bread as we hiked. Despite being 61 years old and a grandfather of many, David was a fast walker. The jungle and the hills to him were like flat pavement. We constantly had to ask him to slow down so we wouldn’t lose sight of him. We travelled through cocoa plantations, corn fields, forests, bushes, creeks, valleys, hills, etc. We were tired. Our legs were sore. We were sweating profusely. But nobody dared to stop. What if the Goliath Beetles got full on the sap and flew away? There was not a minute to lose. We pushed ourselves to the limit. I had never exercised so hard in my life. After what seemed like an eternity, David stopped moving in a distance as he looked up in a tree. When we caught up with him, “They are still here” was what he whispered. My adrenaline must have been through the chart. My mouth was as dry as desert as my eyes frantically searched this Oba Tree. I had never seen a living Goliath Beetle on a tree in its natural habitat, so I didn’t really know what to look for. It would be helpful to know how live Goliath Beetles normally perched on the branch so I could adjust my brain to look for certain images. Since I had no idea, I was just searching randomly with no strategy. I looked up and down, left and right, far and near, but saw nothing. Andy and Q-San had no luck either. I was becoming irritable again. Suddenly, I saw them, a giant male and a female! They were hanging upside-down with their back ends towards us, totally not an image I was expecting in my head. Immediately, I realized why they were so difficult to visualize. It was due to their strategic positioning and perfect camouflage. Since they perched on the underside of branches, predators above the canopy could not see them. As for predators below the canopy, the beetles’ black blended in with the dark branches and the beetles’ white blended in with the white sky! I quickly explained their orientations to Andy and Q-San. Suddenly, Andy saw them, too! But Q-San could not see them. No matter how Andy and I explained, Q-San’s eyes just could not register them. So I got out a piece of paper and drew the tree branches like a map and denoted where the beetles were on the map. Finally, Q-San saw them and we all screamed with sheer joy. The beetles were pretty far away from us so we didn’t think our voice would startle them. We continued to observe them. Then they began to mate in front of our eyes! Wow, I wanted to bring this breeding pair home so bad! I extended my insect rod to its fullest extent with shaking hands as I was extremely excited and nervous. My insect rod was about 15 meters long. The Royal Goliath Beetles were about half a meter from the opening of my net, so they must have been about 15.5 meters above ground. My whole body was trembling and even breathing was a little difficult. That was how anxious I was. I retracted the insect rod because I didn’t want to scare the Royal Goliath Beetles away. If we could catch this pair, then this mission would be a done deal. We were only 0.5 meters away. We needed some kind of elevation. A chair or a stool would be perfect, but there was none nearby. Perhaps Q-San could be a human stool as I stood on his back. Just as we continued to look for a way, the beetles decided they had had enough sap and took off. We were hoping they would land on nearby trees, but no, they just had to fly into the distance and become tiny dots before disappearing completely. Needless to say, we were beyond devastated.sC\A`L
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 D]"
While we stood there passively in despair, Viktor continued to search quietly in the background unnoticed. Just when our morale could not be any lower, Viktor whispered that there was another one on the other side of the canopy. Our defeated spirit was reborn. This would be our fourth chance at a Goliath Beetle. The dramatic emotional ups and downs were almost too much to bear. Quickly, but surreptitiously, we moved to the other side of the tree. This part of the canopy was very difficult for the eyes. It was interwoven with vines and other symbiotic plants. This time, no matter how hard I tried, I simply could not see the beetle. It never ceased to amaze me how Viktor was able to spot beetles that no one else could see. We had no strategy because we couldn’t even see the beetle. As we stood dumbfounded, suddenly, Viktor picked up the slack and took charge of things. He grabbed the insect rod from Q-san and began to climb a smaller tree next to the Oba Tree. All we could do was watch and pray for the best. Viktor was an outstanding tree climber. Even with a long rod in his hand, he dexterously reached the main bifurcation of the tree. Now he was much closer to the Royal Goliath Beetle. Wedging himself securely in the bifurcation of the smaller tree, Viktor began to raise the insect rod and close in on the Goliath Beetle. He had to be extremely careful. If he touched any part of the Oba Tree at all, sensing any vibration, the Goliath Beetle would immediately fly away. It was a very difficult task. Viktor used his legs to clamp down on the tree so he wouldn’t fall, while at the same time maneuvering the net through the dense vegetation without touching anything. As the net honed in closer and closer on the target, I was able to project where the net was going and predict where the subject might be. After meticulous searching, a medium sized Royal Goliath Beetle entered my field of view. However, Andy and Q-san were not able to see the beetle this time. I became a live broadcaster. I began to report how far the net was from the beetle and what the beetle looked like. Andy and Q-san joined the excitement and anticipation through my words. At one point I said something like this in trembling voice: “I think he’ll catch it. I think he’ll catch it. I hope it’s a female. I hope it’s a female.” I felt this might be our last chance. If it was a fertile female, then we could start a breeding colony, and this maiden expedition would be declared a success. Viktor got very close to the Royal Goliath Beetle. It continued to drink the sap and was not aware what was behind it. Swiftly, Viktor covered the beetle with the net. As soon as the beetle felt the vibration of the net hitting the branch, it took off. But this time, instead of flying into the sky, the beetle flew into the net. It was a done deal. Nothing could hold me back. I screamed, “He caught it! He caught it!” Andy and Q-san also screamed. Our screaming resonated in the Forest of Djin Djin. As Viktor retracted the insect rod, the beetle became increasingly clear. Yes, I was extremely happy, but ironically, I was sad at the same time. It was a medium sized male. That meant the struggle was not over. We needed to find a female, fast. Today was June 22, 2015. The time was 2:38 p.m. Tomorrow would be our final day in the Forest of Djin Djin. My return flight was scheduled for June 25 at 10:10 p.m. However, Andy and Q-san’s flight would depart at 11 a.m. This meant we needed to get back to Accra by early afternoon of June 24 so we could obtain export permits from Ghana Forestry Commission Wildlife Division in order to legally move Goliath Beetles out of Ghana. There would not be enough time to obtain the export permits on the morning of June 25 because Andy and Q-san would need to be at the airport by 7 a.m. Could we find a female Royal Goliath Beetle within 24 hours?]I]%>
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 K
It was starting to get late. We needed to get back to our car parked by the village. Before we did that, though, we wanted to check Viktor’s Oba Tree again to see if the Goliath Beetle ever returned. After an hour’s walk, we returned to Viktor’s Oba Tree. Now we had more experience under our belt and knew what to look for. Unfortunately, the Goliath Beetle that flew away never came back. It had been a long day. I was covered in sweat and intensely itching from the biting midges. My body and mind were about maxed out for the day. We decided it was time to retreat to the motel and recuperate. After the sweat had evaporated, I became so sticky and uncomfortable to the point that I actually looked forward to the cold shower, which would also somewhat numb the biting midge itch. Every day in Africa, we also did our laundry by hand either before or after the cold shower. After we were all done, we met up in the dining room. Not surprisingly, dinner was fried chicken and rice with Shito sauce on the side. We had the Royal Goliath Beetle that Viktor caught with us. While we waited for the dishes to arrive, we let the beetle crawl around on the dining table and took photos. It was my first time observing a living Royal Goliath Beetle up close. It was fascinating to know that it smelled like ginseng and, if startled, could have a sudden outburst of energy which resulted in a short sprint. We were very happy with and thankful for what we got, but without a breeding female, this trip would be a failure, and the century-old mystery of Nickerl’s Beetle might not get solved. As much as we were enjoying the newly acquired male, we could not stop thinking about we were still missing a female, the most crucial part of this expedition. We had come too far to go home empty handed. It was time to have a serious discussion about plan B. It was decided that if tomorrow turned out to be fruitless, then Andy and Q-san would return to Taiwan as scheduled because their business couldn’t stay closed any longer. I on the other hand, would extend my stay until a female Goliath Beetle was caught. Any extra expenses incurred would be shared among the three of us. This would make the cost significantly lower than all three of us extending our stay. We were beginning to run out of money, but as soon as Andy and Q-san returned to Taiwan, they would be able to electronically transfer money to me. The thought of having to stay behind in remote Africa alone was intimidating, but my determination overwrote any fear. My will was strong. I was not leaving until I got a breeding pair of the Royal Goliath Beetle. Having reached this consensus, we adjourned the meeting and went to bed as early as possible so we could get enough rest to begin searching at first light tomorrow.3`wwg
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 3V:
On our eleventh day in Ghana, and the final day in the Forest of Djin Djin, we got up before daylight and began searching by dawn. We began with Viktor’s Oba Tree from which a Royal Goliath Beetle flew away. Unfortunately, the Goliath Beetle never returned to this tree for the remainder of our expedition. We stayed under the tree for a couple hours because the Goliath Beetle that flew away seemed to be a female. We really needed a female to complete our expedition. The weather was cloudy in the early morning, but became very sunny and warm by 10 a.m. with a temperature of 28 degree Celsius, the perfect condition for Goliath Beetles to take flight; they are most active when the weather is sunny and warm. By 9:30 a.m., we felt it was time to move to David’s Oba Tree and see if our luck would change. We had three insect rods. Before we parted with David yesterday, we gave him my insect rod. That way, if he saw any Goliath Beetles while we were away, he could catch them for us. This turned out to be a strategy with foresight. We gathered all our strength and walked as fast as we could and got there in forty minutes instead of one hour. When we got to David’s Oba Tree at 10:10 a.m., no one was there. It was unusually quiet. We thought David would be waiting for us already. We started searching the tree meticulously. It was a busy day for everyone. The sun was out. The temperature was warm. Various species of beetles, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies could be seen on this Oba Tree. Some were mating; some were drinking sap; some were fighting for a spot on the sap flow. It was quite an entomological social event. It seemed everybody was there except the Royal Goliath Beetle. This was an Oba Tree with several active sap flows. The weather was perfect. It made no sense that the boss of all insects was absent. David was a serious man. I didn’t think I had ever seen a smile on his face. As we were busy looking for Goliath Beetles, David walked up to us with a casualness that we didn’t know existed in him. He normally walked very fast. But no, today, he strolled in like a slug with hands behind his back and a smirk on his face. It just looked very odd. “Don’t search the tree. There are no Goliath Beetles” were his words, which only added more confusion to our face. I tried to read between the lines. How would he know that there were no Goliath Beetles on the Oba Tree, unless he already checked it before us? He had become a different person. The seriousness that was always on his face had completely disappeared. It almost looked like he now had a sense of humor. “How do you know,” I replied. He smiled and nodded his head for a few seconds. Then he brought out his hands from behind his back; “because I have them.” We lost it. We completely lost it. We screamed and cheered like there was no tomorrow. I didn’t think I had ever been so excited in my life. With the powerful flashlight and insect rod we supplied him, David checked the Oba Tree in the middle of the night when the temperature was too cool for Goliath Beetles to fly. He had captured a mating pair of the Royal Goliath Beetle. It was a done deal and carved in stone. We pronounced our maiden expedition to West Africa a success!M
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 N=t
Of course, the Royal Goliath Beetle alone would not solve the mystery of Nickerl’s Beetle. However, we did not need the Chief Goliath Beetle immediately. We needed to produce virgin females of the Royal Goliath Beetle in captivity first. Then, we would have them mated by males of the Chief Goliath Beetle. In other words, not having found the Chief Goliath Beetle on this expedition would not delay our schedule to hybridize the Royal Goliath Beetle and Chief Goliath Beetle. Even if we had found them both on this maiden expedition, we would still need to wait at least a year before we could cross them. But it would be nice to have found them both on this trip as it would save us more money for sure. So here was the plan: for the next 12 months, we would focus on raising Royal Goliath Beetles in captivity; then, in 2016, we would revisit Ghana to find the Chief Goliath Beetle and hybridize the two. For now, after more than ten days of mental and physical torture, we could finally relax! David invited us to have some fruits in his yard. We casually strolled through more hills and valleys previously unknown to us before we came upon a small river with murky water. David regularly fished in this river and smoked them into dried fish for long term storage. There was a canoe tied to the bank. David had us hop onto the canoe and pulled us across the knee-deep river. After some more hiking, we finally arrived at David’s home. It was truly in the middle of the Forest of Djin Djin. There was no electricity, no running water, no gas, no phone service. He was completely on his own. His home was composed of mud, wooden pillars, and a layer of corrulated metal as roof. He also kept a flock of free-ranging chickens for egg production. David had one neighbor. He was in a state of sadness when David introduced us to him. Here in the Forest of Djin Djin, livestock was their biggest asset. The neighbor had a few chickens, but he lost them all to a snake attack last night. Rural Ghanaians almost never ate their chickens, even on big holidays. The free ranging chickens foraged on their own and produced eggs at no cost to the owners. Raising chickens, on the other hand, for meat would require high protein feeds which might be cost prohibitive in remote communities. David had multiple fruit trees in his yard. He had lemon, citrus, and guava. The fruits were small because they were not fertilized but they were jam packed with fragrance and flavors. Taiwan was famous for guavas. There were large ones, medium ones, small ones, hard ones, soft ones, green ones, yellow ones, red ones, you name it. But David’s guava was one that none of us had ever tasted in our lives. He had lemon guava. It looked like a regular guava and tasted sweet, but it smelled just like lemon. As we munched on these fascinating treats and cooled off in his mud hut, David also introduced us to Akpeteshie, a powerful liquor made from oil palm trees. Not only was it drinkable and immense popular in Ghana, it also served a special purpose for David. Because its alcohol content was up to 60%, David also used it to preserve Goliath Beetles until they were exported to Europe.9
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 Oxg
After having spent a few days in the Forest of Djin Djin, I came to realize why we were able to catch Royal Goliath Beetles here but not in Bobiri Forest Reserve or Kakum National Park. Ironically, deforestation worked in our favor. The Forest of Djin Djin was highly degraded into a mosaic of forest fragments, cocoa plantations, oil palm plantations, villages, and other agricultural lands. Due to deforestation, Oba Trees could be found in various stages of growth. There was nothing we could do about Goliath Beetles on full grown Oba Trees. They were way beyond the reach of our insect rods. But we were able to observe and catch Goliath Beetles on medium-sized Oba Trees. We could not be certain about the future of the Royal Goliath Beetle in the Forest of Djin Djin. As global population continued to increase, world’s demand for chocolate, palm oil, and various African goods was only expected to increase. The Royal Goliath Beetle could become extinct in the Forest of Djin Djin due to continued deforestation. The precious breeding pair David obtained for us would play a critical role in establishing captive populations. Through captive breeding, we hoped the fate of the Thylacine (Tasmanial Tiger) and the Dodo Bird would not happen to the Royal Goliath Beetle. It was early afternoon, time to head back to our car. On our way back, we checked David’s Oba Tree and Viktor’s Oba Tree again. It would be awesome if more Goliath Beetles came. They didn’t. But we were more than content with the breeding pair we were blessed with. We got back to our car at 3 p.m. Word had spread that we were looking for giant beetles. A boy had shot down a big Royal Goliath Beetle with a catapult and waited for our return by our car. We gave him a big tip in exchange of his catch which marked as a perfect conclusion to our visit to the Forest of Djin Djin. We went back to the motel to get ready for tomorrow’s early departure. We needed to be on the road by 6 a.m. The drive back to Accra would be eight hours or more.4+(LK2
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 ^A
Everybody got word that we were looking for giant beetles and found some. At 8 p.m., someone came knocking loudly on my motel door. I got very startled. I wasn’t sure if I should open the door. Two people introduced themselves as the owners of the motel. I opened the door and a couple in their fifties rushed in to see the giant beetles. They looked at the Royal Goliath Beetles and began conversing in local dialect with amazement on their face. They told me that they had lived here all their lives, but had never seen anything like it. This went to show how elusive these beetles could be. The height they lived at with the camouflage they had allowed them to live the perfect hermit life. We got up at 4:30 a.m. and drove back to the village by the Forest of Djin Djin for the last time to say goodbye to David and Viktor. It was 5 a.m. when we got there and still pitch dark. After some waiting, David and Viktor appeared. I was a little greedy. I was hoping David would say he caught some more Goliath Beetles overnight. He didn’t. We gave them big long hugs and the remaining of our US Dollars as our deepest appreciation. We bid each other farewell and departed the Forest of Djin Djin. The state of our mind leaving and coming in were completely different. On our way in, the atmosphere was filled with uncertainty and anxiety. On our way out, we had Royal Goliath Beetles in our hands and nothing but joy in our mood. On our way in, it was hard for me to think about anything but finding Goliath Beetles. On our way out, my calm mind was able to appreciate all the sceneries along the way back to Accra. We stopped by a local gas station to refuel and take a bathroom break. At the gas station convenience store, I had the mood to look at all the local snacks and bought some to enjoy on the way back. Everything became idle, blissful, and vacation-like. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the gentle sun and breeze on my face, much like a content cat sleeping by the windowsill on a sunny winter afternoon. Life was good. At 11:16 a.m., we arrived at the east bank of the Volta River. The last time we were here, it was rumbling with a severe thunderstorm. Now, it was as calm and sunny as can be. There was not a single care in my mind. Since the mission was already accomplished, I didn’t care if I get diarrhea. I began to try the local snacks sold by the vendors along the river bank and on the ferry. I tried dried plantain, smoked squid, smoked beef, various bakery items, and I was fine. Again, I saw the island in the middle of the river, but now I didn’t have an urge to go visit it; I already got what I needed right in my backpack. We continued to make our way to Accra. What stood out the most to me were how common roadside vendors were and the plethora of things they sold. No exaggeration here, anything and everything was sold. Bushmeat, furniture, coffins, pottery, construction material, toys, bicycles, clothing, footwear, jewelry, pets (dogs and birds), you name it. We observed another interesting phenomenon. As previously mentioned, some roads were filled with potholes. Young people would voluntarily fill the potholes with dirt and stand by the flat road for passing vehicles to give them gratuities. Ghanaians were incredibly resourceful and always found ways to make a living.m=h[a
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 W_+h+q
The traffic was smooth and we arrived in Accra by 2 p.m. We went straight to the Ghana Forestry Commission Wildlife Division to obtain export permits for our Royal Goliath Beetles. After a couple hours of paperwork, our applications were approved and export permits granted. While we were waiting for our applications to be processed, we walked around the premise of the Ghana Forestry Commission. It was also a temporary sanctuary for confiscated wild parrots from illegal wildlife trade before they were returned to the wild. We saw about fifty Timneh African Grey Parrots as well as fifty Jardine’s Parrots. The Timneh African Grey Parrot was especially of sentimental value to me because I had had two since 2001. After our export permits were issued, we went to dinner and subsequently checked in to the motel to get ready for next day’s departure.F2
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 DA
We were all exhausted from the intense traveling and searching in the jungles. With the mission accomplished, our brain and body relaxed and we fell sound asleep in no time. Very quickly, June 25 came, our last day in Ghana. We arrived at Accra Kotoka International Airport at 7 a.m. in preparation of Andy and Q-san’s departure at 11 a.m. We had known each other for years prior to the trip. But the past 12 days in Ghana would transition our acquaintance to friendship of a lifetime. Soon, Andy and Q-san would travel back to Taiwan, I would return to the United States, and we would live our usual daily lives again. After Mac and I sent off Andy and Q-san, we had Mohammed drive us to an electronics shop. We bought David and Viktor each a cellular phone as gift. Mac would stay in Ghana for a few more weeks. He would find time to transport the phones to David and Viktor. For years to come, David and Viktor would stay in touch with their new phones. However, contacting them would still be difficult because there was no reception in the Forest of Djin Djin. They would have to travel to a nearby town to contact us. My flight was not until 10:10 p.m. Mac had kept my motel room for the rest of the day. When we returned to the motel, the male Royal Goliath Beetle was gone. I looked everywhere. I checked under all the furniture. I check all the window blinds. I was in a state of extreme panic. I checked for broken windows or screen where the beetle could have escaped, but I didn’t see any. I came to the conclusion that housekeeping must have taken him. I asked Mac to go talk to the housekeeping and tell them that I would buy the male back no matter what the cost. Mac asked me to check my room thoroughly one more time. I assured him that I checked absolutely everywhere. When I went back to my room, the male Royal Goliath Beetle had reappeared. He was perching on the sofa. I could not figure out what had happened. The trip could have ended very badly at the last minute. How would I tell Andy and Q-san that the male Royal Goliath Beetle just disappeared? Like magic, he reappeared just as mysteriously as he had disappeared. I took my last cold shower in Ghana and got ready for the airport. At 4:52 p.m., we arrived at the airport. After parking, we went to the airport restaurant to eat my last meal of my maiden West African trip. I had fried chicken and fried rice with Shito sauce on the side. After dinner, Mac and I started discussing 2016. Even before my first trip had officially come to an end, we were already talking about next year! Now I knew what Ghana was like and felt very comfortable and looked forward to coming back. In the summer of 2016, we would return to Ghana and visit the Ankasa Forest Reserve, which was located right on the border of Ghana and Ivory Coast. If there was any place in Ghana with the Chief Goliath Beetle (Goliathus cacicus), this would be it. I could hardly wait! |
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 TE7i#
I arrived at the departure gate with plenty of time to kill. I visited all the gift shops and bought some more Golden Tree chocolate bars to bring back home. As delicious as they were, one bar never got eaten. It had become a tangible reminder of this trip and a piece of wonderful memory that I didn’t want to destroy. At the time of this writing in 2022, it remained perfectly wrapped in the refrigerator and would be for years to come. I sat in one of the seats next to the gate and began to reflect on this trip. I obtained this breeding pair of the Royal Goliath Beetle on the last day at the Forest of Djin Djin. If Q-san hadn’t insisted on leaving Kakum within 24 hours of arrival, we would not have made it to the Forest of Djin Djin in time. Confucius said there would always be a teacher in a group of three. Q-san and I frequently got pessimistic on this trip. Andy was a big fan of baseball. He told us about games in which the losing team turned things around in the last inning with the last batter and claimed victory. I used to think he was being too romantic, but our trip did span out like one of those resurrected baseball games. Before our trip, Q-san had gone to Xingtian Temple, a large and immensely popular temple in Taipei, to pray for safety and ask for guidance. After praying he drew a fortune stick on which it read “Many challenges lie ahead but the result will be great.” Multiple things seemed to have come together in our endeavor to solve the mystery of Nickerl’s Beetle. Because of Orin McMonige’s discovery that the larvae of Goliath Beetles were carnivores, they were not classified by the United States Department of Agriculture as plant pests and therefore could be imported and kept by the general public. I departed the United States out of Boston Logan International Airport. But I would enter the United States through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Rearranging the return flight would make the ticket fare more expensive, but it was necessary because John F. Kennedy International Airport was one of the designated ports by the United States Fish and Wildlife Services for wildlife importation. My flight departed Ghana on schedule and landed in Amsterdam uneventfully. At 11:41 a.m. on June 26, KLM Flight 6020 landed in JFK International with me and Royal Goliath Beetles onboard. I proceeded to the US Customs and USFWS and declared my Goliath Beetles. Everything proceeded smoothly. With the Royal Goliath Beetles safely home, we were one step closer to realizing our dream of making Nickerl’s Beetle.^*_2hq
©昆蟲論壇 -- 昆蟲論壇 D-;
Perhaps my body had been overly burdened with physical activities and mental stress, I felt fatigued in the evening of returning home. Shortly afterwards, a headache and fever began to develop. The first thought that came to my mind was malaria! But I was still taking Doxycycline two times a day and would continue to do so for four more weeks. So malaria infection was less likely. Perhaps I had caught a cold. I took some Tylenol and continued to monitor myself. By the next morning, I was fine. I proceeded to setting up a breeding terrarium for the Royal Goliath Beetle pair. It was to the female’s liking and she began to lay eggs. The propagation of the Royal Goliath Beetle in captivity went as planned and the first larvae became adults in the early summer of 2016. I was sitting in the comfort of my living room when I opened the first cocoon on June 5 at 10:45 p.m. It was an emotional moment. Flashbacks of our times in the jungles of Africa reminded me how difficult it was to obtain the parent stock. Now I was surrounded by more than forty Royal Goliath Beetles. What a sharp contrast. In the time between my first and second West African expeditions, I researched the whereabouts of the Chief Goliath Beetle. There were very few records of the Chief Goliath Beetle from Ghana. Old literature reported Accra, Elmina, and Kumasi, all of which were completely deforested today. On August 13 at 7:37 p.m., I received an e-mail with a very interesting lead. A Swiss entomologist told me that he had gotten in touch with someone who had personally caught numerous Chief Goliath Beetles in Ghana in the 1980’s. Takoradi was the locality. Even in the 1980’s, Takoradi was already severely deforested. The collector caught the Chief Goliath Beetles on Vernonia trees among pineapple, cocoa, and rubber tree plantations. He said a Vernonia tree could have up to 20 Chief Goliath Beetles. This was such exciting news. I immediately shared it with Andy and Q-san. This information made sense. Takoradi was very close to the Ankasa Forest Reserve, which bordered Ivory Coast, the most famous locality for the Chief Goliath Beetle. Now we felt very confident that we would find the Chief Goliath Beetle in Ankasa and Takoradi in the summer of 2016.hPnIJ
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2022/05/01 01:01:19pm 
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