Beetle-Hercules

Beetles are insects that are part of the Osteoporosis squad. Received this unit its name for hard chitinous elytra, which serve as a cover for the hind wings, folded on the abdomen. Sometimes there are such species of beetles that do not have hind wings, but chitinous elytra is present in these insects.

In Russia, live a lot of different beetles. The May bug inflicts great harm to agriculture. Not himself, but his voracious larvae. Not so long ago, in the 60s of the last century, a Colorado beetle was brought to Russia , which today became a real scourge of potato growers. He, accustomed to a warm climate, has adapted to our winters, hiding deep into the earth. And in cases of lack of the usual food for him - potatoes - this glutton perfectly feeds on the swan, tomatoes, aubergines and other plants, like the tops and fruits.

And one more "newcomer" gives people a lot of problems. It's a house cockroach. This beetle has many subspecies, which are chosen by warm human habitation, feeding on the remains of food.

The largest beetles in Russia are relict barbel or giant woodcutters. Their size reaches 11 cm. Their habitat is the Far East and South Primorye. To date, the number of representatives of this species has significantly decreased, the beetle has become quite rare, so it was listed in the Red Book.

And the biggest beetle in Europe is a stag beetle. We call it a deer bug. They can be found in our country. For sure, everyone at least once in his childhood caught and looked at this amazing insect.

But not everyone knows that his "horns" - this is not a horn. The most amazing thing is that this is nothing more than a modified upper jaw! With their help, deer beetles snatch prey, fight with rivals because of females and are protected from enemies.

The largest beetles of the planet are the woodcutter-titanium and the beetle-Hercules. Their habitat is South America, its tropical forests. They reach 18 centimeters in length!

And if the first place in size these two beetles are forced to divide among themselves, then the beauty between them, undoubtedly, the winner is the beetle-Hercules. Bright-black long jagged horns, green patchy elytra - a sight!

True, the females of this species are almost half the size of males, and they do not have horns either. Taurus of female is black, covered with brown hairs, and elytra is tuberculate.

But despite the fact that the beauty of their "spouses" of the female is much inferior, the males, as expected, bravely enter into battle with rivals for possession of the favoured individual. Beetle-Hercules, fighting for the "lady of his heart", use natural weapons - their "horns". They are heaps the rivals on his back and crushes to the ground.

After mating, the female chooses a cavity in rotten wood, where she lays eggs. After all, rotten wood is a food substratum for future larvae. In one year the female beetle is able to lay off about 100 eggs.

Larvae hatched from eggs begin to actively eat wood, moving through it. By the time the larva moves into the chrysalis, it can reach 180 mm in length and weigh up to 100 grams! And if the time of the stage of development of the egg is about a month, a maximum of one and a half, then the larva develops from one and a half to two years - well, is not it amazing? Pupa also goes through its development stage in six weeks.

The adult beetle-Hercules prefers to use overripe soft fruits in its diet. But if this food is for any reason difficult to access, the beetle can, using a claw claw on its paws, climb the trees.

Sometimes in search of food, a beetle can fly from one place to another. The span of its wings is 22 centimeters.

Studying beetles is an interesting and entertaining business. There is a whole science that deals with them - coleopterology.