{"id":24646,"date":"2023-01-31T17:26:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T16:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=73816"},"modified":"2023-01-31T18:35:41","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T17:35:41","slug":"whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the largest beetle in the world?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two beetle species are contenders for the accolade of biggest beetle\u2013 depending on how you\u2019re measuring. <\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 31 January 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

There are two impressive species battling it out for the title of the world\u2019s largest beetle, both measuring over 15cm in length.<\/p>\n

The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules<\/em>) is named after the mythological figure Hercules who was famed for his great strength. It is part of the rhinoceros beetle subfamily, Dynastinae, which also includes the Atlas beetle (Chalcosoma atlas<\/em>) and the common rhinoceros beetle (Xylotrupes ulysses<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The species is sexually dimorphic, with the female and the male looking different to each other. With regards to the title of largest beetle, it is only the male that can compete, thanks to his very long black horns. These horns are used in battle against other males in order to mate with females. The length of these horns combined with his body length means the male Hercules beetle can reach up to 19cm in length.<\/p>\n\n<p>Despite its scary-looking horns, the Hercules beetle is harmless and mainly feeds on rotting fruit on the rainforest floor. The larvae of the species feed on dead wood.<\/p>\n<p>Hercules beetles are found in South and Central America, between Bolivia and southern Mexico, and on some Caribbean islands.<\/p>\n<p>The other contender for this title \u2013 if the title is focused on body length \u2013 is the titan beetle (<i>Titanus giganteus<\/i>), which can measure up to 16.7cm in body length.<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=293%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=293%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=347%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=347%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=395%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=395%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=543%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=543%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=607%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=607%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=398%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=398%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=544%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=544%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-73818\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/Titan-beetle.-Benard-Dupont.-Flickr-0f65ae8.jpg?quality=90&resize=607%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"><span class=\""caption-copy"\"><i class=\""icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> <em>A titan beetle. \u00a9 <a href=\"\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/berniedup\/39753860481"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Benard Dupont via Flickr<\/a> (<a href=\"\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>)<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\""im-image-caption"\"\/><\/div>\n<p>The titan beetle is part of the longhorn beetle family, Cerambycidae, and is the only species in its genus (known as a monotypic genus). The bite of this beetle\u2019s mandibles is incredibly strong, and it can snap pencils in half.<\/p>\n<p>Titan beetles are also found in South America, including Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuala and Colombia. Adult titan beetles do not feed. The larva of this species have never been found, but are thought to feed on dead wood below ground.<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"><div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <h4>More record-breaking species:\u00a0<\/h4>\n<ul><li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/insects-invertebrates\/worlds-largest-moth-species\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">What is the world\u2019s largest moth species?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/mammals\/whats-the-worlds-smallest-cat\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">What\u2019s the world\u2019s smallest cat?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/whats-the-worlds-fastest-snake\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">What\u2019s the world\u2019s fastest snake?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/whats-the-loudest-bird\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">What\u2019s the loudest bird?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section><hr\/><p><em>Main image: A male Hercules beetle. \u00a9 Robert Oelman\/Getty<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Two beetle species are contenders for the accolade of biggest beetle\u2013 depending on how you\u2019re measuring. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24647,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world.jpg",2124,1411,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-300x199.jpg",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-768x510.jpg",768,510,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-1024x680.jpg",800,531,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-1536x1020.jpg",1536,1020,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/01\/whats-the-largest-beetle-in-the-world-2048x1361.jpg",2048,1361,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Two beetle species are contenders for the accolade of biggest beetle\u2013 depending on how you\u2019re measuring.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}