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.

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.