Big Beetle Blog

I know it’s Moth Week, but I did promise a big beetle blog, so here you go!

I went out at 7 a.m. or so to check out the moth scene on the front porch, a site of many peculiar and fascinating insect sightings.
I can typically spot anything regardless of its clever camouflage, but miraculously I did not notice the gargantuan beetle right away which seems silly looking at it in this picture. It’s like a boil on the side of the house.

Find the Beetle by Cozytailmom on deviantART

I took about 25,000 pictures, at least, and was impressed because I had no idea we grew them so big in these parts. I had to research the species and suspected that I had finally found an elusive undocumented species that I could name after one of my children.

Turns out, a lot of people out there on the web have come across them and, like me, thought they found somebody's lost exotic pet from Madagascar. I believe it is a variety of native rhinoceros beetle, female. Although I did minor in Biology at VT, I’m not actually an entomologist. Shocker! Please kindly let me know if I’m wrong. 

Big Giant Beetle on My House by Cozytailmom on deviantART

She hung around for a couple of days. I was hoping she would attract a mate because the males are pretty cool with their rhino horns, you know… Google them.

Beetle at an Angle by Cozytailmom on deviantART

How about those smart photo captions above, eh...? Not among my more creative moments.

For scale, here is my sweet, cooperative son posing next to the beetle. I got him out of bed to see it because I’m that kind of mom, and I was afraid it would be eaten or buzzzzz off… (hehe)

I also made a video of my sweet, less than cooperative daughter meeting the beetle. It’s safe to say she does not share my enthusiasm for adorable bugs. Ha!

All and all, I took the scarab-like insect's appearance as a sign that we most definitely needed to check out the Tutankhamun replica exhibit at the Science Museum of Western VA and eat at Bayou Snowballs that very day!