| European rhinoceros beetle | |
|---|---|
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| Oryctes nasicornis. Male, side view | |
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| Dorsal view | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Scarabaeidae |
| Genus: | Oryctes |
| Species: | O. nasicornis |
| Binomial name | |
| Oryctes nasicornis | |
The European rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis) is a large flying beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae.
One of the largest beetles found in Europe, Oryctes nasicornis reach a length of 20–42 millimetres (3⁄4–1+3⁄4 inches), with a maximum of 47 mm (1+7⁄8 in). [1] The elytra are reddish brown with a glazed appearance, while the head and pronotum are slightly darker. The underside of the body and the legs are covered with long red hair. It is a sexually dimorphic species. The male's head is topped by a long curved horn (hence its common name), while the females have no horns.
The larvae grow in decaying plants feeding on woody debris (xylophagy), generally non-resinous. They can reach a length of 60–100 mm (2+1⁄4–4 in). The development period lasts 2 to 4 years. The adult’s size is influenced by the quality and abundance of food.
The mammoth wasp (Megascolia maculata) is a parasitoid of O. nasicornis larvae. The female wasp lays one egg inside the beetle larva; when the egg hatches, the wasp larva will feed on the host.
The adult beetle emerges between the end of March to May, and lives for a few months until autumn. It occurs mainly during the months of June and July and is very active, flying at dusk and by night, attracted by lights. In this stage they do not feed, consuming only the reserves accumulated during the larval stages.
Oryctes nasicornis inhabits the Palaearctic region, excluding the British Isles. It is the only representative of the Dynastinae family found in Northern Europe. It is widespread in the Mediterranean basin up to Pakistan, the Near East and North Africa.
The rhinoceros beetle lives on wood, and the large larvae can be found in rotting wood stumps and around sawdust. At the margin of its distribution, the beetle is often found in connection with sawmills and horse racing tracks.
The Japanese beetle is a species of scarab beetle. Due to the presence of natural predators, the Japanese beetle is not considered a pest in its native Japan, but in North America and some regions of Europe, it is a noted pest to roughly 300 species of plants. Some of these plants include rose bushes, grapes, hops, canna, crape myrtles, birch trees, linden trees, and others.
The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous subfamilies are recognized, but the precise taxonomy and systematics are likely to change with ongoing research.
The Hercules beetle is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the rainforests of southern Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Lesser Antilles. It is the longest extant species of beetle in the world, and is also one of the largest flying insects in the world.
The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm-long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae. They are a common species, often considered a pest of domestic houses and, particularly, natural history museums, where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and insect collections. A. verbasci was also the first insect to be shown to have an annual behavioral rhythm and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in animals.
Dynastinae or rhinoceros beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae). Other common names – some for particular groups of rhinoceros beetles – include Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles. Over 1,500 species and 225 genera of rhinoceros beetles are known.
Dynastes tityus, the eastern Hercules beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the Eastern United States. The adult's elytra are green, gray or tan, with black markings, and the whole animal, including the male's horns, may reach 60 mm (2.4 in) in length. The larvae feed on decaying wood from various trees.
Allomyrina dichotoma, also known as Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Japanese horned beetle, or kabutomushi, is a species of rhinoceros beetle. They are commonly found in continental Asia in countries such as China, the Korean peninsula, Japan, and Taiwan. In these areas, this species of beetle is often found in broad-leaved forests with tropical or sub-tropical climates. This beetle is well known for the prominent cephalic horn found on males. Male Japanese rhinoceros beetles will use this horn to fight other males for territory and access to female mating partners. Upon contact, males will attempt to flip each other onto their backs or off of their feeding tree. In response to selective pressures, smaller male A. dichotoma have adapted a "sneak-like behavior". These smaller beetles will attempt to avoid physical confrontation with larger males and try to mate with females.
The elephant beetle is a member of the family Scarabaeidae and the subfamily Dynastinae. Elephant beetles are Neotropical rhinoceros beetles.
Delphastus pusillus is a small ladybird beetle which preys on all species and stages of whitefly, but prefers eggs and nymphs. The adults are small, shiny, black beetles. Newly emerged adults are pale-brown to almost white. They eventually turn black with a brown head. The eggs are 0.2 mm long, clear and twice as long as they are wide. The elongate larvae are pale yellow.
Tomarus is a genus of scarab beetles in the subfamily Dynastinae, the rhinoceros beetles. They are native to the Americas, where they are distributed from the central United States to Argentina, and a few species occur in the Caribbean.
Xanthogaleruca luteola, commonly known as the elm-leaf beetle, is a beetle species in the family Chrysomelidae that is native to Europe but invasive in other parts of the world.
Nudiviruses are animal viruses that constitute the family Nudiviridae. Insects and marine crustaceans serve as natural hosts. There are 11 species in this family, assigned to 4 genera. Diseases associated with this family include: death in larvae, chronic disease in adults.
Xylotrupes gideon, the brown rhinoceros beetle, is a species of large scarab beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae.
The mammoth wasp is a species of wasp belonging to the family Scoliidae in the order Hymenoptera. It is a parasitoid on scarab beetles and is found in Europe and Asia and is the largest wasp found in Europe
Oryctes rhinoceros is a large beetle, belonging to the rhinoceros beetles, subfamily Dynastinae, of the family Scarabaeidae. Its vernacular names include coconut rhinoceros beetle, Asiatic rhinoceros beetle, and coconut palm rhinoceros beetle. O. rhinoceros attacks coconut palms and other palms like the economically important oil palm. It can cause serious damage to the developing fronds (leaves) up to death of the palm. The beetle breeds in decaying palm trunks or other organic matter like sawdust or compost heaps.
Oryctes is the most economically important genus of rhinoceros beetles in the subfamily Dynastinae, since it includes a notorious insect pest of palms.
Eupatorus gracilicornis, the five-horned rhinoceros beetle is a beetle that has four large horns on the prothorax and one extra-long cephalic horn. Rhinoceros beetles, the Dynastinae, are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family (Scarabaeidae).
The Moellenkampi beetle, is one of four large species of rhinoceros beetles from Southeast Asia belonging to the genus Chalcosoma. The Moellenkampi beetles belong to the beetle family Scarabaeidae along with other rhinoceros beetles. They are characterized by having two large, forward-projecting horns on the pronotum or thorax, and another large, forward and upward-projecting horn on the head. They also have a distinct metallic lustre, which is the reason behind their genus name, which derives from Greek, chalko-, and is the combining form of chalkós, meaning copper.
Oryctes gnu, commonly known as Malaysian rhinoceros beetle, is a species of dung beetle native to South Asian and South East Asian countries including: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam. It is also introduced to many parts of the world.
The Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) is a member of the species Alphanudivirus oryrhinocerotis in the family Nudiviridae. It causes lethal infections in larvae and adults of the coconut rhinoceros beetle, a serious pest of coconut and oil palms in tropical Asia and the Pacific. The virus was discovered by Alois Huger in 1963 while searching for diseases of O. rhinoceros in Malaysia. It has been demonstrated to be an effective biological control agent against this beetle pest.
