23-6-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - IBERIAN RHINOCEROS BEETLE (Oryctes nasicornis ssp. grypus)

The European rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis) is a large flying beetle belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae.

The rhinoceros beetles, which are also called the rhino beetles or horn beetles, belong to many genera in the subfamily Dynastinae of the family Scarabaeidae which also includes the dung beetles  . They are among the largest and strongest beetles in the world, reaching more than 150 mm (6 in) in length and able to lift up to 850 times their own body weight, but are completely harmless to humans because they cannot bite or sting . Their common names refer to the characteristic horns borne on the top of the males of most species in the group resembling a rhinoceros; the horns can be as long as two-thirds the total body size and there can be other horns pointing forward from the centre of the thorax while the females are hornless  .

The horns are used for dual purposes including digging underground and fighting other males for the right to mate  . In fact, the sexes of these insects are usually dimorphic (except Phileurini and some Cyclocephalini and Pentodontini) with males having either horns or enlarged tubercles or foretarsi  . The horn size generally provides a good indicator of the nutritional status and physical health of the beetle  . The rhinoceros beetles also have rounded convex backs whose coloration varies from black to mottled greenish grey; some are shiny, almost metallic, whereas others may be covered with short fine hairs, giving them a velveteen appearance  . Many species of rhinoceros beetles are believed to originate in the rainforest and forest regions of central and southern America .

The European rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes nasicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) is a large flying beetle which can reach up to 60 mm, being one of the smallest species in the subfamily Dynastinae, but is still one of the largest and heaviest beetles found in Europe, and the only representative of this subfamily found in Northern Europe  . Males have a long curved horn on the head’s front top (frons), while the females are hornless  . The wing cases are dark brown with a glazed appearance, giving it the impression of a shiny conker; the legs and the underside of the body are covered with short red hair; the larvae live on dead, rotten wood and can thus be found in rotting wood stumps and in sawdust; taking around two years to develop in the larval stage, the adults emerge between March to May, flying around at dusk time in Europe; the adults do not feed and live up until the Autumn.