A rhinoceros beetle resting on the path
On the 27th of June, near the end of a long day in Medog, I almost stepped on a large dark shape resting on the gray concrete path. It turned out to be a rhinoceros beetle: deep brown, broad and rounded like a polished stone, with a striking curved projection rising from the front of its head. It stayed perfectly still as I crouched down, and let me take a good long look.
This is Xylotrupes mniszechi mniszechi, a member of the scarab beetle family Scarabaeidae in the order Coleoptera. It belongs to the Dynastinae, the rhinoceros beetle subfamily, named for the horns carried by the males on their heads and thoraxes.
Rhinoceros beetles are the heavyweights of the insect world. Males use their horns in pushing contests, trying to flip rivals off branches and sap flows where females gather, and the bigger the horn, the better the odds. The larvae live inside decaying wood and grow surprisingly large, while the adults feed on sap and ripe fruit. Many species are creatures of the evening, taking to the air at dusk to find fresh feeding trees.
The genus name Xylotrupes comes from the Greek for “wood” and “borer”, an honest description of a group that spends most of its life inside dead timber. This one, out in the open on a concrete path, was taking a rare holiday above ground, and I was glad to share a few quiet minutes of it.
