Meet the Hercules Beetle

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Thanks goodness we don’t have these in Oklahoma!

The Hercules Beetle is found in the rainforests of Central and South America and is one of the largest flying insects in the world. For obvious reasons, they are also known as the rhinoceros beetle.

Male Hercules beetles can be up to 7 inches in length, including the horns.  They can carry up to 100 times their body mass. And apparently some people keep Hercules beetles as pets! Hard pass on that for me…

Check this guy out:

DCG

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Calgirl
Calgirl
2 years ago

Thank Goodness we don’t have these in California…YET! OMG…can they be prepared for a decent camp-out meal ? If so, that could spell their end anyway….

twohawk
twohawk
2 years ago
Reply to  Calgirl

We have these in Texas. Had a female rhino beetle fly onto my porch,sounded like a C-130 coming in for a landing. The description,from my search, said it was an Eastern grant’s Rhino beetle.She was massive. Looked a LOT like a gargantuan June bug.

DrE
Admin
DrE
2 years ago

Yikes!!!
Thank God these nightmarish beetles are not in North America!

Gracie Storvika
Gracie Storvika
2 years ago
Reply to  DrE

I ditto that remark! Having to contend with something that size and that prehistoric looking would be beyond the pale.

twohawk
twohawk
2 years ago
Reply to  DrE

Eastern Grant’s rhino beetles are nearly as big.

Gracie Storvika
Gracie Storvika
2 years ago

So very happy that I don’t live where these guys reside! The adult Hercules Beetle is the stuff my “bad” dreams are made of. I suppose they must have a good purpose, but so glad I don’t see them in real life.

Great article DCG!

joandarc
joandarc
2 years ago

Thank you DCG for this most interesting post! I think insects are fascinating and I used to study them when I was a little girl. I had a special insect book, and I would go all around our beautiful l/2 acre yard and find insects and read about them. This particular beetle is so intimidating though, so big – incredible!

Calgirl
Calgirl
2 years ago

So, twohawk, what did you do with the Rhino Beetle? Did it move on, or set up a homestead on your porch? Does it eat vegetation, like your garden or flowers?

I hate to report that yesterday, we killed a snake that somehow got into our living/dining room…& it turned out to be a “good” snake. I feel so bad. Not the first time this has happened to us, but the first time we killed it b/c we only got a glimpse of it,& being a light pinkish/tan, with one quick look, we could not see if it was a juvenile desert rattlesnake or another (It is liveborn baby Rattlesnake season here…very active & Rattlesnakes in the house happen more often than you can guess here). So, we trapped it where it had hidden,& killed it. Only then did we find out that it was something called a Smith’s Blackheaded snake…or something like that…..that lives in the Pacific Southwest. We’d NEVER seen one before, ever. It is tiny, even when full-grown. This one was about a foot long-plus, & about as big-around as a #2 school pencil. We looked it up & this was probably an adult. Pinkish body, red stripe (it turned out) on it’s belly, & a strange little black head, which we didn’t see on our first glance at it. It was hiding around/ underneath our pet’s water dish near our sliding door. We found it upon the morning ritual of changing the water dish contents. It is not poisonous to mammals, but probably is to its small arthropod prey. This is the 3rd type of snake I’ve found on my property this year so far…..we found a Rosy Boa dead on our driveway (we have cats) & we know that a family of adult Garter snakes have been in our back yard. The cats & Garter snakes snack on the same things….mice, rats, voles, moles…I think between the two, we have a pretty good pest control system going on. But, I’d really love to know why this Smith’s Blackheaded snake was here…….and it probably means there are others….

DrE
Admin
DrE
2 years ago
Reply to  Calgirl

Yikes. All snakes give me the creeps. 😳

Calgirl
Calgirl
2 years ago
Reply to  DrE

I know…I don’t mind the “good snakes,” who have survived with us without drama….but, can’t figure out why the poisonous ones are still around with all their drama…..God and evolution & all that. So, why are they biting and killing beings that they never intend to eat for survival? They are, IMO, today’s dinosaurs. Their skill is not needed for their own survival. They can eat without poisonous bites…lazy hunters all. They are “random” killers of others, in addition to their lazy kills. And, I don’t know why some of them are “protected.” For instance, if you kill a huge Pacific Rattler, well known killer of even humans who get treatment for their bite, who, for instance, crawl into your driveway past your fence and appears to access your blocked-off-contained backyard, and you kill it b/c you have a little dog and an always bare-footed toddler who uses the yard…..you have to hide the evidence of the kill so you don’t go to jail…..

Calgirl
Calgirl
2 years ago
Reply to  DrE

I can’t figure out why any snake has to be poisonous after a bazillion years….from either God OR natural selection over those years….The “good snakes” are still here with us without all that drama….what’s with those poisonous ones….lazy much at finding food? And, why bite big things that you’re NOT going to eat, like people, or pets? Pretty much, I think they are living dinosaurs and no one likes to admit it.In fact, some of them are protected, like giant, older Pacific Rattlers that crawl into your patio/backyard that you kill and have to hide evidence of….

Calgirl
Calgirl
2 years ago
Reply to  DCG

I did not see this exact website, but accessed others to help me identify this snake. If you access sites that show newborn CA desert Rattlesnakes (liveborn & venomous fr birth…) you will see the similarity, unfortunately for this Tantilla hobartsmiti blackheaded snake….esp if you get only a quick glance before making a decision about what to do when it is in your dining room..if you’ve never seen one before & ALL you see in an instant is the sand-coloring….you might think it’s a juvenile rattlesnake..&..to DCG …yes …. Rattlesnakes in the living room are not uncommon here or there in OK….so glad your encounter turned out okay…I so remember one of our first trips from West to East on vacation to visit relatives..& at the rest stops in OK, there were dead Rattlesnakes all over the sidewalks b/c people had killed them with rocks….it was so hot that the snakes had tried to find coolness & moisture inside the rest stop facilities …..When I brought my mom & her little dog back with me on the return trip, I had to warn her to NOT allow her dog to sniff around shrubs leading up to the rest stop bathrooms…..