Oryctes nasicornis is one of the largest beetles here in my area ...
... and adult males of this species look very cool.
The females are also large and cool ... but they don't have the long horn on their head ... so from the SF/Fantasy fan prospective they can appear slightly less cool. The life span of these adult insects is only about two weeks, and they don't eat at all. Members of this species spend most of their relatively long life ...
... in this larval stage.
The larvae grow in rotting wood ...
... or among decaying plants in thick layers of compost ... feeding on that material ...
... and depending on the quality of the food ...
... they need 2 - 4 years to grow enough ...
... and reach the next level.
I hope you'll find this collection of photographs useful for some of your project ...
... you can use them as you wish ...
... as always in these posts on HIVE, the photographs are my work.