Subject: Can you identify this beetle?
Geographic location of the bug: Central FL
Date: 10/10/2017
Time: 01:05 PM EDT
I found this bug coming out of my bathroom wall. Obviously now I know I have a rotten place near my shower. Can you tell me anything about this beetle and if I may have more where he came from?
How you want your letter signed: Laura
Dear Laura,
After some searching on BugGuide, we believe we have correctly identified your Rhinoceros Beetle as Phileurus truncatus, the Triceratops Beetle. According to BugGuide: “Adults come to lights. Larvae in rotten logs, esp. oaks. Adults can live up to two years in captivity.” BugGuide also notes: “Woodlands. Adults have been reported causing cabin fires by coming down chimneys, presumably attracted to fireplace smoke and spreading embers.” According to Arthur V. Evans’ site Beetles of Eastern North America: “The larvae probably feed on decomposing wood and its associate fungi, while the adults are known to prey on insects and are attracted to lights at night.”