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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Rhinoceros Beetles (Dynastinae) » Dynastini » Hercules Beetles (Dynastes) » Eastern Hercules Beetle (Dynastes tityus)

Species Dynastes tityus - Eastern Hercules Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Eastern Hercules Beetle - Dynastes tityus - male Eastern Hercules Beetle - Dynastes tityus - male Dynastes tityus - male Eastern Hercules Beetle - Dynastes tityus - male Eastern Hercules Beetle, dark form female - Dynastes tityus - female Strange bugs in East Tennessee (aliens maybe lol) - Dynastes tityus - male - female Dynastes tityus pupa - Dynastes tityus - male One male and 4 females - Dynastes tityus Hercules beetle larva - Dynastes tityus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily Dynastinae (Rhinoceros Beetles)
Tribe Dynastini
Genus Dynastes (Hercules Beetles)
Species tityus (Eastern Hercules Beetle)
Other Common Names
Rhinoceros Beetle, Unicorn Beetle
Explanation of Names
Dynastes tityus (Linnaeus 1763)
after Tityos, a giant of Greek mythology
Size
40-60 mm, including male "horns"(1)
Identification
Huge size, greenish elytra with variable dark spots. Some are nearly black. Male has massive horns on head and pronotum.
Habitat
Deciduous forests.
Food
Adults feed on rotting fruit, sap
Life Cycle
Larvae in rotting heartwood of logs/stumps of hardwoods, sometimes pine. Adults sometimes gather on logs (mating sites)(2). Males fight over breeding sites, such as cavities in oaks(3). Pupation in late summer. Adults hibernate in pupal cells in decaying wood. Eggs laid following summer. Large larvae overwinter suggesting a 2-yr life cycle(1)
Remarks
at high risk due to the EAB(4)
Print References
Glaser J. (1976) The biology of Dynastes tityus (Linn.) in Maryland (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Col. Bull. 30: 133-138.
Internet References
Texas Entomology (Quinn 2008)
Works Cited
1.White Grubs and Their Allies, a Study of North American Scarabaeoid Larvae
Paul O. Ritcher. 1966. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 219 pp.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.Florida's Fabulous Insects
Mark Deyrup, Brian Kenney, Thomas C. Emmel. 2000. World Publications.
4.Ecological impacts of the emerald ash borer. Pp. 15-62. In: R.G. Van Driesche (ed.), Biology and Control of Emerald Ash Borer.
Wagner, D.L. and K. Todd. 2015. USDA Technical Bulletin FHTET-2014-09. Morgantown, WV.
Contributed by Cotinis on 21 March, 2004 - 10:39pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov, Edward Ruden
Last updated 3 July, 2023 - 10:04pm

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