Beetle
Sean Reynolds (with the help of his mom Michelle) sends us today’s photo of a beetle. I can’t be too sure on the identification, but the general shape suggests to me that it may be a minor Ox beetle, Strategus aloeus.
We’ve had another Ox beetle on the site in the past; and although this photo was also taken in Texas I’m not too sure this means they’re identical. Texas is plenty big enough for more than one type of beetle.
Ox beetles come in two flavors: major and minor; the majors are much larger and are the result of getting all the food they can eat as larvae, such as by not having to compete for food with siblings, or being hatched on a brood ball–the dead animal or other food supply chosen by the mother to lay her eggs on–that is much larger than normal. This one is a minor, which means the brood ball was normal-sized, or that the beetle had many siblings.
If this is an ox beetle, it is also probably female; even the minor males have tiny little rhinoceros-like horns on their foreheads.
Actually, the more I look at this beetle, the more I think it should be called the Batman Begins beetle. Do you think maybe this beetle spent years in the orient studying the martial arts as a way of seeking revenge for the senseless murder of its parents at the hands of a psychopath? Well, if it did, we know who it would fight.
So much for being on an even keel again with posting.... completely overwhelmed IRL right now.
JFargo said,
April 15, 2008 @ 10:03 am
That’s a really cool beetle. Loved learning about what makes them so big/not as big too.
Nice shot Sean and Michelle!
Scott said,
April 15, 2008 @ 12:02 pm
Batman Begins Beetle… heh.
AJ said,
April 15, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
That’s a nifty beetle. I like all the weird little protrusions on its legs. (like my scientific terminology?)
David Brady said,
April 15, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
You mean the bat-spikes?
Alan said,
April 15, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
No way - those are his utility gloves (see http://images.google.com/images?q=batman+gloves for proof)! And of course, this begs the question - “which bug is his sidekick?”