Innoqua Achieves World's First Diving Beetle Breeding in Closed Environment Using Proprietary 'Environmental Transfer Technology'

Innoqua Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Yota Takakura; hereinafter 'Innoqua'), which promotes the 'visualization' and 'valuation' of nature using its proprietary 'Environmental Transfer Technology®', has succeeded for the first time in the world in breeding three species of southern diving beetles from egg-laying to emergence in a closed environment (within the same tank) (as of June 2026, according to company research).

The tank used in this breeding research

Using its proprietary 'Environmental Transfer Technology®', Innoqua has precisely quantified and visualized in a closed lab environment the causal relationship between corporate activities (drainage, products, land use, etc.) and ecosystem changes, which were previously difficult to identify in natural environments due to numerous external factors (noise).

The ability to reproduce the life cycle of the diving beetle, which occupies an important position in the ecosystem pyramid, in a closed system this time symbolizes that it is now possible not merely to preserve a single species, but to reproduce complex ecosystems themselves, such as Satoyama and freshwater areas, within the lab. Innoqua will expand the knowledge it has cultivated so far in marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves to Satoyama (terrestrial and freshwater areas).

By utilizing 'Environmental Transfer Technology®', companies will be able to grasp the impact of their technologies and actions on nature based on objective evidence. This strongly supports the advanced environmental assessments around business locations required for TNFD disclosure and the 'positive contribution to biodiversity' essential in global supply chains, strengthening the structure to shift companies' nature-positive strategies from 'defense' to 'offense'.

Background

Currently, the global economy is shifting towards the new concept of 'Nature Positive' (nature recovery). According to estimates by the World Economic Forum (WEF), approximately $44 trillion, equivalent to over half of the global GDP, depends on natural capital, and the degradation of ecosystems is recognized as a serious risk that brings an economic loss of up to $2.7 trillion annually.

In this global trend, Japan is in a position to lead international rule-making, with the number of registered TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) adopters reaching 209 organizations, the highest in the world.

The 'defensive' phase, such as the disclosure of nature-related information, is steadily progressing.

However, according to an EY survey (Global Nature Action Barometer 2025), while 93% of companies are working on information disclosure, only 3% of companies have actually announced 'Nature Positive' goals.

This significant gap highlights a serious global issue: a lack of experts and knowledge to scientifically prove the positive impact of a company's technologies and actions on nature and sublimate it into concrete business opportunities.

In response to this challenge, since its founding in 2019, Innoqua has created nature-positive businesses based on scientific evidence together with companies such as Shiseido and JFE Steel, driven by the overwhelming passion for coral held by CAO (Chief Aquarium Officer) Naoki Masuda. In the process, we became convinced that citizen explorers with deep passion and insight like Masuda exist in various places, and that they can serve as the bridge between 'business and nature'.

Therefore, starting four years ago, Innoqua has operated the 'Innovate Aquarium Festival (Innoaqu)', a platform that gathers these outstanding biological explorers and utilizes their knowledge to solve corporate issues. During this initiative, we met 'Mr. Shin', a diving beetle breeder. Mr. Shin proposed a nature-positive future through the development of the 'ecotone' (transition zone), the boundary between water and land, and became the core of the joint research that led to this world's first successful breeding in a freshwater ecosystem.

Scene from the 2nd Innoaqu

Value as an Indicator Species

'Satoyama', which accounts for about 40% of Japan's land area, is a treasure trove that provides multifunctional benefits (ecosystem services) such as food production and water purification. Its economic value is estimated to reach approximately 138 billion yen annually, and it is becoming an important foundation supporting the sustainability of Japan as a whole. (Quoted from the Ministry of the Environment's 'Evaluation of the Economic Value of Biodiversity in Satochi-Satoyama (CVM)')

The symbol of this rich ecosystem is the diving beetle, an underwater indicator species.

The adult is a 'scavenger' that cleans the waterside, and the larva has two faces as a 'hunter', functioning as the keystone of the ecosystem pyramid. An environment where diving beetles can breed autonomously is proof that a healthy food chain is maintained, from microscopic organisms that serve as food to aquatic plants that serve as spawning grounds.

Experiment Outline and Results

Conventionally, the mainstream method for breeding larvae of aquatic insects, including diving beetles, was individual management using plastic containers or tea strainers to prevent cannibalism. However,