Beetle Power

Yesterday at work I spotted something interested moving on the sidewalk.  I had to stop and pick it up.  It was an amazing huge beetle - the biggest I've ever seen!  It was greenish-colored with black spots.  I admired it and brought it inside to show the folks that work in my office.

I had no clue of what it was so I did a Google search on the image and then was able to research it further.  As it turns out, this beetle is the Dynastes tityus or Hercules Beetle.  This is actually the female as the male has a large horn protruding from its head.  It is called a Hercules beetle because it can carry 850 times its weight!  It is among the largest and strongest of beetles.  Their lifespan as adults is only around 4 months and it feeds on rotting wood.  It lives in the southeast and its range extends to eastern Texas, so it is right on the boundary of its normal range.

I let the old girl go in the grass on the side of the office.  If its lifespan is only 4 months, I figured it had places to go and people to see.