A FEW WORDS ABOUT ORYCTES NASICORNIS - for the Butterfly Day and Insect Day Giveaway - Week 48
The European rhinoceros beetle, is one of only few relatively large beetle species in this area where I live. And along with the Stag beetle is surely the most spectacular looking one. And also, fortunately for me, my garden suits its lifestyle well. The larvae of these beetles, often choose, beside their primary habitat in the rotten wood in the forest, also the thick layer of compost that I'm using to grow tomatoes, paprika and similar stuff ... so I encounter this beautiful insect almost every summer, and I don't have to go far for that. They just appear in summer, a few of them, the cats harass them a bit, but they are hard to destroy, and from what I saw - I'm sure that they always, or almost always, survive these encounters with my cats.
(Enlargeable)Here on the photograph is the male. Female look the same - except for the fighting horn - they don't have one ... nor two :D
The majority of this insect's life is spent in larval phase that can be 2 to 4 years long ... and while as larvae they consume a pretty large amount of rotting plant materials, the interesting fact about the adults, fully developed insects is - that they don't feed at all. They consume their fat reserves during the few weeks of their adult existence that is concentrated on reproduction. They are as adults, a bit like some reproductive organs of the species, like moving flowers or mushroom bodies that will do what's necessary to continue the life line and then disappear.
As always in these posts on Steemit, the photograph :) (Completely enlargeable this time) is my made by me.
I know this is going to sound strange, but four years as larvae! I have to wonder about that experience. I know we don't believe insects have a thought life, but they do experience existence. What must that be like, just lying there and consuming. Maybe a little like watching TV, day in an day out, passively absorbing sensations.
I looked up the nervous system of these creatures:
An amazing insect. Thank you for the introduction.
This is an interesting question, how others experience their existence. :) Would be cool to have some psychic power that let you experience that for a moment .... Maybe to them that feels like a very active chewing and munching in the dark. Maybe it's a bit like the life in the womb. :) Or maybe it is like watching the TV, and always the same channel with the same larval Big Brother show on it.
What a great response...material for at least two stories.
Absolultely wonderful.
:)
#love it when the comments are as interesting as the original post - and LOVE this rhino beetle! Well, the photos, anyway. Maybe I wouldn't want their larvae feeding in my garden 2-4 years, but if they're eating compost, not all my native flora, they're ok by me. @ryo-6414posted a Japanese beetle here that looks nothing like the invasive, destructive marauder I've been assassinating every summer in the Midwest. I'd be less eager to kill the awesome looking rhino beetle!
The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a species of scarab beetle.The adult measures 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 10 mm (0.4 in) in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, but in North America, it is a noted pest of about 300 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle
Japanese beetle
The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) is a species of scarab beetle. The adult measures 15 mm (0.6 in) in length and 10 mm (0.4 in) in width, has iridescent copper-colored elytra and a green thorax and head. It is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural predators, but in North America, it is a noted pest of about 300 species of plants including rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.The adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage, that is, consuming only the leaf material between the veins, and may also feed on fruit on the plants if present, while the subterranean larvae feed on the roots of grasses.
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We have such bugs are rare, but sometimes they appear often) Which is very strange
Interesting ... maybe they have some strange cycles, or deviation from cycles, from time to time. Some species here also have occasional booms and appear unexpectedly in bigger numbers, I don't know why.
:D :-) funderfule
:D Fank you !
Interesting insect
Yes :) It's a cool battle bug
Hi friend! wow!! that's great!! I love beetle!!😀👏
And it's very interesting! 2-4 years is very long!
Japanese beetles become adults in one year and have a lifespan of about 2 months(The photo shows a Japanese beetle I bleeding)
Japanese beetles are about 8cm, how many cm are beetles in your country?
It is also interesting that they do not feed when they are adults ... but some insects (e.g. Longhorn beetles in South America) have the same morphology
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Wow! These Japanese species looks fantastic wit that ornate horn ... what a cool design.
Aha, I'm invaded by plain Japanese Beetles, while yours is Japanese RHINO Beetle:
Ahaha, Yeah! He is like a rhino! Strong horn!😁
#love it! the cats harass them a bit, but they are hard to destroy, and from what I saw - I'm sure that they always, or almost always, survive these encounters with my cats.
#posh https://twitter.com/tea_in_carolina/status/1233027559383760896
"Everybody gangsta till the rhino beetles start flying"
:D