Dynastes grantii

The average body length reaches 58–65 mm, the maximum length of the caught male was 85 mm ^[1] . Color varies from gray to pale yellow and greenish brown. The head is black. Elytra with dark (brown or black) spots, the number, size, shape and location of which varies greatly. On the male’s head is a large horn directed forward with several teeth. On the pronotum there is a second large horn directed forward and somewhat curved downward. The underside of this horn is covered with thick red or red-brown hairs. Female without horns, with a more massive abdomen.

It occurs in northern Mexico in the state of Chihuahua and the Southwestern United States : in Arizona , in the west of New Mexico and in the south of Utah . In the western United States, Dynastes granti is the largest lamellar species. ^[2]

Beetles are found from mid-August to early November ^[2] . They feed on fermented flowing wood juice and rotting fruit. Food is sought on the surface of the soil.

After mating, the females burrow into rotten wood to lay eggs. Eggs are laid one at a time in the food substrate of the larvae. One female is able to lay about 100 eggs. Larvae feed on small fibers of wood. As they grow and develop, they move into the substrate and begin to feed on harder, rotten wood. The larva pupates in the ground in a pupal cradle .

Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles - Dynastes grantii