Rhinoceros Beetles

There are hundred and millions of insects or bugs in the world that we can't count how many of them. It is beyond our imagination. Some how I got interested to know one insect or bug to be exact, that got my attention. The name like Rhinoceros Beetle rings the bell to you? I am referring to a bug or beetle that has horns on its head, yes! very much like the rhinoceros does.

When I was a little boy, I used to see or bump into these beetle outside my house. There was lots of trees and at that times, the forests have not been cleared for road or housing development. And these beetles really flourished and multiplied in numbers, since no one disturb their environments.

I didn't know the Rhinoceros Beetle (or Rhino Beetle) are among the largest of beetles in the world until now. They can reach 60 millimeters in length. If we look closely, they have two horns, one that is very obvious where you can see at the top of the head and other projecting forward from the middle of the thorax. These beetle is part of the family of scarab beetles (scarabaeidae) They are the strongest animals or insects in the world which can lift up to 850 times their weight.

 As mother nature have created them, male Rhinoceros Beetle purposely used their horn for 2 reasons:-

1. Most male used their horn for right mating with the females. They usually battling each other for dominant supremacy.
2. For escaping from danger, their can used the horns to dig its way out of a sticky situation by burying itself underground.

They are mosly nocturnal, meaning mostly active at night foraging for food, mating and  by day, their normally hide under logs or plants vegetation away from few predators big enough to want to eat them.

I always thought Rhinoceros Beetle will bite or attack if they surrounded by enemies but I came to realize, their actually harmless. They cannot bite or sting you with their horns. The horns is occasionally used for battle against another male for right mating and also feeding site. Interesting facts: the females Rhinoceros Beetle have no horns. They are quite plain and less frequent seen.

The main reason why this hub been created is to highlight the danger of disappearing/extinction of these wonderful creatures from our sight because of greediness of humans. The deforestation and destruction of forests and vegetation will cause total or complete wipe out of these beetle from the planet earths and our future generation will never see real lives Rhinoceros Beetle for good.

Further information, there are about 300 different species of scarab beetle, some live in tropical countries and other live in North America.