[5] In an article published in the peer-reviewed taxonomy journal Zootaxa, Wang wrote that “…this specific epithet is dedicated to Dr. Xi Jinping, the President of China, for his leadership making our motherland stronger and stronger.”[1][2] The entomologist also says that “The Rhyzodiastes (Temoana) is very rare – you might not encounter a single one even after 10 field collection sessions – and it also eats rotten wood for food… so it’s a metaphor for Xi Jinping, a rare person you only encounter once a century, and specifically his controls on corruption [eating rot], which will allow Chinese corruption to gradually disappear”.

[11] A Weibo search resulted in a message saying: “due to relevant laws and policies, results for ‘Xi Surnamed Wolf Spine Carapace’ cannot be shown.”[8] On 11 July 2016, a government censorship instruction was posted, saying: "All websites find and delete the article: Entomologists Report: Scholars Use ‘Daddy Xi’[sic] to Name a New Type of Beetle, and related information".

[12] Despite the attempts at censorship, many Chinese language reports were available outside the Great Firewall, so people within China could still access them by using virtual private networks (VPNs).

'[15] The Hong Kong Free Press included satirical images of the beetle,[16] and The Times suggested that Xi Jinping lacked a sense of humour.

[17] While Zhang Lifan, a Chinese writer and historian, responded to the beetle controversy with a poem in the style of Franz Kafka.