Possibly Female Elephant Beetle in Mexico

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

Elephant Beetle

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.

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Location: Mexico