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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Rhinoceros Beetles (Dynastinae) » Oryctini » Ox Beetles (Strategus)

Genus Strategus - Ox Beetles

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Works Cited
Xyloryctes jamaicensis? - Strategus antaeus - female beetle grub - Strategus beetle grub - Strategus Female, Strategus aloeus (L.)? - Strategus aloeus Strategus sp. - Strategus - male Female, Strategus cessus? - Strategus Beetle ID needed - Strategus cessus Smooth Ox Beetle, Strategus antaeus? - Strategus
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 Oryctini
Genus Strategus (Ox Beetles)
Explanation of Names
Strategus Kirby 1828
Strategus = 'general'
Numbers
6 spp. in our area:
Strategus aloeus (Linnaeus 1758) - Southern US, GA-AZ
Strategus antaeus (Drury 1773) - Eastern US
Strategus cessus LeConte 1866 - AZ, NM
Strategus craigi Ratcliffe 1976 - AZ (Huachuca Mts., old record)(1) & Mexico
Strategus mormon Burmeister 1847 - South Central US
Strategus splendens (Palisot de Beauvois 1809) - Southeastern Coastal Plain
Size
18-60 mm
Identification
Large scarabs, males with prominent horns, often in threes. Pronotum has large depression. Compare other large horned scarabs, especially Phileurus and Xyloryctes.

Key to eastern species(2)

1 Elytra with distinct, complete sutural striae .... 2
--Elytra without sutural striae, sometimes slightly impressed apically, but not complete; Horns slender; Widespread eastern US .......... S. antaeus (Drury)

2 Male with posterior pair horns absent; 25-36 mm, Southeastern coastal plain, Palm feeder ................... S. splendens (Beauvois)
--Male with posterior horns present - laterally compressed; 31-61 mm; so. US (GA-AZ) ........................ S. aloeus (Linnaeus)
Range
Southern North America (esp. coastal plain of se US) to the neotropics
Food
In captivity, adults take fruit, etc.
Life Cycle
One year life cycle, apparently. Larvae, in captivity, feed on rotting wood, vegetation.
See Also
Xyloryctes jamaicensis
Phileurus truncatus
Ritcher's (1966) key to separating larvae:
Claws bearing 2 setae (Fig. 332) --- Dynastes
Claws bearing 3 or 4 setae (Figs. 333 and 334) --- Strategus (3)
Works Cited
1.A revision of the genus Strategus.
Ratcliffe, B.C. 1976. Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 10(3): 93-204.
2.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
3.White Grubs and Their Allies, a Study of North American Scarabaeoid Larvae
Paul O. Ritcher. 1966. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis. 219 pp.
Contributed by Cotinis on 28 August, 2004 - 7:22am
Additional contributions by Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 5 September, 2019 - 4:33pm

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