#titan beetle

[lockandkeyhyena]

[randomanimaloftheday]

Day 18#: Titan Beetle

Today's animal of the day is the Titan Beetle (Titanus giganteus)!

Photo credit: Frank Deschandol

This species of longhorn beetle is one of the largest species of living insect in the world and can grow to about 6.7 inches in length. These giant beetles can be found in the tropical rainforests of South America and prefer to live in old-growth forests with lots of rotting wood for their larvae to eat. However, despite having a wide range they are rarely seen in the wild since they are most active at night.

Female titan beetle (left) compared to a male (right) / photo credit: arthropodian on Instagram

Like some other species of beetles, the titan beetle lacks any digestive enzymes as an adult and is unable to eat anything. Instead, they get their energy from calories stored up from when they were larvae and capable of eating. Titan beetle larvae typically feed on rotting wood but they will also eat other types of plant matter as well as fungi. The larval stage typically lasts about a year, however, as adults, they only live for a few weeks and so they spend most of their time searching for a mate. Despite not being able to eat, adult titan beetles have powerful jaws which they use to defend themselves from predators.

Photo credit: Lilian Hacquin

Because of their elusive nature and short lifespan, little is known about the behavior of these beetles in the wild. This also makes it hard to tell if they are endangered or not. However, it's probably safe to assume that, like countless other rainforest species, the titan beetle population has decreased significantly due to deforestation and other threats to their natural habitat.

[ketrinadrawsalot]

The titan beetle is the world's largest beetle by body length, growing up to 17 cm (6.7 in)! The beetles have a strong bite, but they don't eat during their short lifetime as adults.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Titan Beetle

Bernard DUPONT / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

[thewhitescatterbug]

This year I had the ABSOLUTE PLEASURE of getting up close to a specimen of the Titan Beetle, Titanus giganteus, the largest beetle in the world! They can reach 17cm (6.7 inches) length and are simply breathtaking! Look at how huge it is in comparison to my finger. I love it.

[cool-critters]

Titan beetle (Titanus giganteus)

The titan beetle is a neotropical longhorn beetle, the sole species in the genus Titanus, and one of the largest known beetles with the largest reliable measured specimen being 16.7 cm in length. The larvae have never been found, but are thought to feed inside wood and may take several years to reach full size before they pupate. These beetles are also thought to feed on decaying wood below the ground. Boreholes thought to be created by titan beetle larvae seem to fit a grub over two inches wide and perhaps as much as one foot long.The adults defend themselves by hissing in warning and biting, and have sharp spines, as well as strong jaws.

photo credits: Bernard DUPONT, Didier Descouens

[thefabulousweirdtrotters]

Awesome titan beetle!

[guavajagular]

I saw a post about Titan beetles and I freaked out, and then also decided to draw one