all images were taken by me
Female Dynastes Tityus
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).
Male Dynastes Tityus
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.
Female Dynastes Tityus Eating
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.
Male Dynastes Tityus
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!