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Revision as of 11:45, 4 August 2009
Insect fighting is a blood sport involving insects. It is practiced in areas in China, Japan, and Thailand. There are people who train and fight their insects against other insects in underground fighting arenas. Insect fighting is a traditional Chinese pastime that dates back to the Tang Dynasty of 618-907 and had long been mainly practiced by aristocrats, senior officials and wealthy merchants. It is also a casual activity for youth in western countries and is known colloquially as "bugfighting".
Structure
Individuals may hoard many different type of insects for the battles. Some of the most popular bugs are the Stag Beetle, Rhinoceros Beetle, Kabutomushi, Cricket, and Goliath Beetle, as their sheer size and jumping ability make them formidable opponents. They are trained by their owners to become stronger and more aggressive. Beetle fighting is practiced in the northern region of Thailand.
Insect fighters claim that their activity provides free entertainment while removing pests from the environment.
Training
A training method involves using supplemental feedings of sugar from sugarcane (their favorite food and nesting areas) to help the beetles grow bigger. After the training is complete, the owners will take them to the designated fighting arena and the bugs are forced to fight each other.
A small noisemaker is used that duplicates the female's mating call (fighting beetles are male). Getting beetles to fight requires patience and is much different than other types of animal fighting. The loser is pushed onto his back by the winner, pushed off of a limb, or a predetermined area.
Object
The fight can take place on a log, stump, or circle drawn in the dirt, anywhere that is a small ring. The ways to win these "battles" are by either one insect pushing the other out of the ring, one of them running out of the ring (which happens very rarely), or one of them being flipped over during the fight. With beetles, it is extremely rare for one to die during a fight.
In culture
- In the Samurai Champloo episode Gamblers and Gallantry the character Mugen trains a stag beetle for combat by tying a large rock to it.
- The most common insect the Chinese use are grasshoppers or praying mantis (mainly Chinese Mantis). Sometimes the fight will be two different type of insects fighting in a makeshift "arena".
- The movie Jarhead (film) contains one scene where U.S Marines battle scorpions in the desert (though scorpions are not insects).
- In the movie Enter the Dragon there is a bug fight between two praying mantis before they reach the island.