Giant Beetle
Location: Nayarit, Mexico
January 24, 2011 9:55 pm
Nice site! I do enjoy reading it!
We were drinking beer at a wedding reception in Nayarit when we saw this huge, cool beetle crawling around on the ground. I invited it onto my hand where it stood for a bit before flying away.
It was brownish and shimmery, and very well-mannered in spite of our revelry. What kind of beetle is it?
Signature: Fred
Hi Fred,
We are going to tell you the same thing we tell our photo students: “Don’t be afraid of your subject. Move in closer.” We believe this is a female Elephant Beetle, Megasoma elephas. The male is even larger and has magnificent horns. We found a photo on a UK Reptile Forum that shows a size comparison of the male and female Elephant Beetle.