European Rhinoceros Beetle

European Rhinoceros Beetle

European Rhinoceros Beetle was found in our garden! The European Rhinoceros Beetle, also know as Oryctes nasicornis, is a beetle from the family of Scarabaeidae, Scarab beetles, and subfamily of Dynastinae. As larvae, the European Rhinoceros Beetle lives in and eats rotting wood, sawdust, fallen trees and other similar wood debris. The larvae take from two to three years to develop into a pupa, after digging itself a hollow hole in the group. Then it stays here for a few months till March-June and then adult males can live for 1-3 years, however, adult females don’t usually live long after they mate. Females usually lay around 50 eggs at a time and it usually takes three to four weeks for the eggs to hatch into larvae. European Rhinoceros Beetle is named after the horn on the males head, which is long and curved. The European Rhinoceros Beetle is rare and is an increasing threat to being extinct due to the trade of exotic insects, pesticides and deforestation. It is now protected, but this does not stop the illegal trade. Often species being protected puts them at more risk of being poached or captured if there are no punishments for doing so or it is easy to get away with! There are many types of Rhinoceros Beetles, however many of them are endangered and in the amazon rainforest, the Hercules Beetle (Dynastes hercules) is suffering from both deforestation and wildfires. We must stop illegal trade of any living thing! We must stop deforestation and human causes for wildfires!

Nika Strok Underwood