It was the same scratching sound I had heard the night before, however, in my semi-sleep state the prior night, I imagined a bird and twigs were the composers of the scratch, scratch, scratching sounds somewhere outside my house. But tonight, the sound was unmistakably coming from the air conditioning vent on the ceiling of my bedroom.
I could see a dark mass huddled against the metal register of the vent, and once I unscrewed the vent cover from its tight hold on my ceiling, my friend and I met eye to eye. “Well, hello there.”
Welcome Rosie, a 2-inch long female Eastern Rhinoceros beetle (Xyloryctes jamaicensis). And from that moment of introduction, I was smitten.
My nature journal entry, September 2017 of Rosie; dorsal and ventral views.
I had a month of insect lessons ahead of me and so I asked Rosie if she wouldn’t mind acting as an ambassador of beetles, showing children how worthy she is of their respect and attention. Rosie was paid in kind with fresh, late summer fruits and vegetables, set up in a critter case with rotting logs and leaves, moss and soil, freshened daily with sprits of fresh water. She was handled with loving care.
My time with her was well spent. I got to study the jagged spike-like structures protruding from her legs and the fuzzy hairs that lie under her head and thorax. I learned of the small hinge between her thorax and abdomen, only visible on her belly side. Her legs seemed skinny upon first glance but where they attach to her abdomen they are surprisingly thick! When I looked closely at her back I could see lines running down her forewings studded with round indents, reminding me of a beaded necklace.
Rosie the Rhinoceros Beetle would climb on top of her peach slice to eat. She loved peaches.
I loved to watch her eat. She loved peaches and would lie right on top of her slice and get busy eating. The kids loved to meet her and gently touch her backside or hold her in their timid (and sometimes not so timid) hands. I knew that every child she gently greeted was less likely to step on the next beetle they crossed paths with.
Ultimately, it feels funny to feel so much gratitude and affection for a beetle, but I do. She came to me at the exact time I needed her and proved to be an incredibly effective teaching assistant.
Photo found on nwf.org
Insects named for the horns on their heads; the horns are more prominent in males who use them to fight for territory. (Rosie’s were not large, therefore I deduced she was a female.) They are sometimes called Hercules beetles for their incredible strength (sometimes being able to lift objects 850x their own body weight) and I’m telling you, those legs, where they attach to the abdomen, were big and ready to work. They can live 1-2 years, most of that time spent in their larval stage. They live under logs and in leaf litter and eat fruit and sap as adults but decaying plant matter as larvae. Like Rosie, most are all black but can also be gray, reddish brown or greenish. Rhinoceros beetles are widespread and not a threat to humans or our homes.