The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Hercules Beetle

(Dynastes hercules), an insect of the family Scarabeidae. Length of the male’s body, up to 15 cm. It is black, and the elytra are olive green with black spots. There are two horns: one, long and thick, is located on the frons and directed forward and upward; the second, longer still, is turned down over the one on the frons and is located on the thorax. The female is considerably smaller than the male (up to 9 cm) and does not have horns. The Hercules beetle is found in South and Central America. The larvae develop in rotten wood.

Mentioned in

Coleoptera

References in periodicals archive

We stopped for coffee in an isolated wayside caf and saw, on the adobe wall, a bright turquoise Hercules beetle. As we drove into the national park the sun was beginning to go down; we ran to the edge and saw the most spectacular sight I will ever see as long as I draw breath.

WATCHING Billy Connolly's TV [...]

Wishing to switch to a different critter, you lift off the Rhino's shell and replace it with that of the Hercules Beetle or Hissing Cockroach.

A good way to bug your parents

Even so, it seems permissible to take a small break to watch the colossal eastern Hercules beetle haul its two-inch-long dome through the grass.

Touching earth

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