Laos is home to one of the strongest competitive betting sports rhinoceros beetle wrestling. The first beetle to severely maim, injure or kill its opponent beetle, is the victorious winner.
People bet on which beetle they think is most likely to win, and in this way, rhinoceros beetle wrestling is an enthusiastic and competitive pastime of the locals.
Forms of insect fighting as spectator sport are practiced in regions of China, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. Some types have a long history; for example, cricket fighting is a traditional Chinese pastime that dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Originally an indulgence of emperors, cricket fighting later became popular among commoners.
Beetle fighting, with such beetles as the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Xylotrupes Socrates, Dorcus titanus, Goliathus, and dynastinae beetles also occurs, especially in Japan.[3][4] There is also an online fan community, watching those fights in videos on different platforms. Every year in northern Thailand, groups of men gather to take part in this unique activity.
Some men come to fight beetles and gamble, while others come to meet and socialize with friends. The fights are organized once a year and offer a break from the daily routine in small, agrarian villages. Participants are typically low-income farmers, but there are also wealthy competitors.
Locals capture the rhinoceros beetles in the jungle during the beetle mating season in September. They can sell an average beetle for about 50 baht ($1.40), but a champion-caliber insect can go for as much as 3,000 baht ($84). The owners bring their beetles to the small arenas where the fighting takes place.
They match the beetles by size and character and when two similar beetles are found, bets are placed and the competitors will head onto the fighting stage – a log of wood, crafted with holes wherein a female, pheromone-secreting beetle is trapped.
The two male beetles are thus motivated to fight over the female beetle. Most of the fighting beetles are caught in the jungles of northern Thailand, but breeders have recently begun operations. They organize beetles fights during the beetle mating season between September and early December each year.
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