Texas Beetle Information

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

Rhinoceros Beetle

Strategus aloeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Family Scarabaeidae, Subfamily Dynastinae, Tribe Oryctini

(female, male has horns on the pronotum)

Pharr, Hidalgo Co., Texas, USA
August 2005 (Cat Traylor)

Texas County Records for Strategus aloeus

County Record Data from E.G. Riley, Dec. 2005

Range: Arizona to Georgia, Puerto Rico, Mexico south to Brazil (Blackwelder, 1944-57)

Adult Activity: March to August in Texas.

Similar Species: There are 31 species of Strategus beetles, ranging from Central Kansas south to South America (Arnett et al, 2002).

Three species occur in Texas:

Strategus aloeus (Linnaeus)
Strategus antaeus (Drury)
Strategus mormon Burmeister

TAMU Insect Collection has

250 Strategus aloeus specimens, 100 from Texas;

37 Strategus antaeus specimens, 7 from Texas;

20 Strategus mormon specimens, 18 from Texas.

Weblinks:

Captive Breeding Manual for Beetles of the Family Scarabaeidae - C. Campbell
Strategus aloeus Ox Beetle Care Sheet Page - The Beetle Experience

Photo:

Grubs in potting media - Drees, TAMU
Strategus sp. - Alex Wild

Etymology: Strategus aloeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

strat, -age, -eg (G). Generalship

Biography: Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) - University of California

References:

Arnett, R.H., Jr., M.C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley & J.H. Frank. (editors). 2002. American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. 861 pp.

Bartholomew C.A., & Casey T.M. 1977. Endothermy during terrestrial activity in large beetles. Science, 195(4281):882-3.

Blackwelder, R.E., 1944-1957. Checklist of the Coleopterous insects of Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and South America, part 4. Smithsonian Institution US Natural History Museum Bulletin 185, Parts 1-6. 1492 pp.

Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. v + 134 pp.

Endrödi, S. 1985. The Dynastinae of the World. Dr. W. Junk Publisher, Dordrecht. 800 pp., 46 plates.

Ratcliffe, B.C. 1976. A revision of the genus Strategus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 10: 93-204.

Riley, E.G. & C.S. Wolfe. 2003. An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of Texas. Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement, no. 26. 37 pp.

Ritcher, P.O. 1958. Biology of Scarabaeidae. Annual Review of Entomology, 3: 311-334.

Ritcher, P.O. 1966. White Grubs and Their Allies, a Study of North American Scarabaeoid Larvae. Oregon State University Monograph Series No. 4: 1-219.

White, R.E. 1983. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 368 pp.