My wife came across a dead beetle of some sort. It is light green in color with mottled black spots on the wings. It is about 2″ long and has pincers that open top to bottom, not side to side. I have attached a picture for your review. Thanks for any help you can give us in this identification.
Dave B.
Columbus, Ga
Dear Dave,
I’m sure I answered your wife’s letter, though now can’t seem to find any record of it. She sent three photos of different views. It is a Unicorn Beetle, Dynastes tityus, a member of the scarab family prized by collectors. They are harmless.
Daniel,
Thanks for the quick response! Once you had been able to identify it, I was able
to find additional pictures online. As an aside, my wife hasn’t sent any pictures in…so there are a couple of us who recently came across a beautiful specimen.
Thanks again!
Dave
We at What’s That Bug appologize to Dave and Lori because we confused their photograph with the following photograph which arrived in our offices two days before. They are remarkably similar.
I found a Unicorn beetle here in Georgia as well but it’s not in my field guide to insects and spiders of North America. Is it native to Georgia? North America?
The Eastern Hercules Beetle is native to North America and its range includes Georgia.
why in the world isn’t it in my book??
We cannot say for certain why your guide book has overlooked the heaviest beetle in North America, but we have submissions to our own site of sightings of Eastern Hercules Beetles in Georgia, and BugGuide also has sightings from Georgia.
roger that, thanks