My Experiences With Dynastes Tityus (Hercules Beetle)
all images were taken by me
I actually found all of these Hercules Beetles at my job at a garden center. They were all quite large, maybe 2 inches long by one inch.
Finding these beetles really sparked my interest in bugs. I have always found moths beautiful (I will share pictures in a future post), but these Hercules beetles were wonderful. One can handle them without issue as they do not have any means of harming a human. They have wings, however I have only seen one flutter theirs and they did not fly. The female and male are easily identified as the male of the species has a formidable looking horn atop his head (below).
These beetles are very popular in Japan as pets, known there as Kabutomushi (helmet bug). I found through limited online resources that these beetles live longer in captivity than in the wild. I decided that I would take on the care of some that I found.
The beetles started on a diet of mushed banana, syrup and water mix. This replicates their wild diet of tree sap and fruit. I also ordered some beetle jelly which is imported from Japan. I am including a link to the website to show what the jelly looks like and more info.
http://beetlesource.com/index.php/beetle-jelly
The beetles have an average lifespan of just about one year in the adult phase. I found a total of four live beetles last year and several dead beetles. The male beetles were always a treat to find as they just look so much more interesting to me.
Some people breed the beetles and raise the resulting eggs through the grub and larvae phases, which I did not do. I will try to do so this year if I find more beetles.
If I find more this year, I will certainly update with a new post and pictures! Thanks for reading!
Great shots. Cool looking beetle. Those mushed bananas look tasty as well. :)
Thanks! My favorite is the first close up. You can see how much hair they have. These beetles are actually prone to getting mites.