![]() ![]() The eggs are vulnerable to attack from a predatory mite. Predators ĭifferent predators attack different life stages of Dynastes tityus. The adults' diet is not well known, but they have been observed lapping up the sap of ash trees. They emerge in the summer and live for 6–8 months. Adults remain underground through the winter, initially remaining in their pupal cell. After 12–18 months, the larvae pupate in late summer. The larvae are large C-shaped grubs with white bodies and chewing mouthparts, which feed on decaying wood and litter within rotten trees and produce distinctive rectangular fecal pellets about 10 mm (0.39 in) long. Subsequent batches of eggs are oviposited in the same site until its resources are exhausted. grantii are very similar, and it is possible to interbreed them and produce viable hybrids. tityus inhabits the eastern United States, Dynastes grantii (the western Hercules beetle) live at higher elevations in Arizona and Utah, with Dynastes hyllus found as far north as Tamaulipas, Mexico. Three of the 6 species of Dynastes found in the Americas occur in the United States or Mexico. tityus lives in the eastern and southeastern United States, from New York state, Illinois and Indiana in the north to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in the south, with eastern Texas marking the western limit of its range. ĭynastes tityus was featured on a stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in October 1999. Occasionally, both elytra may be a uniform mahogany color, or one elytron may be pale with dark blotches, while the other is a plain mahogany color. Moisture is stored on the outer layer of the elytra, called the epicuticle, which changes the angle at which light reflects off of the underlying layer, the exocuticle, which is composed of photonic crystals. This results from moisture which the shell has absorbed when the elytra dry out, they return to their paler color. Beetles that are found in the soil or in rotten wood often appear very dark, with the spots on the elytra obscured. The pattern of spots is unique to each individual. The elytra are green, gray, or tan, usually with black mottling. Despite the size of the horns, Dynastes tityus is harmless to humans. The horns are used in battles between rival males competing for a mate the size of the horn reflects the availability of food when the beetle was growing. Dynastes tityus is therefore "among the longest and heaviest beetles in the United States". Adults of both sexes are 20–27 millimeters (0.8–1.1 in) wide, and males are 40–60 millimeters (1.6–2.4 in) long, including a long horn (the pronotal horn) which projects forwards from the thorax of the male a second horn (the clypeal horn) projects upwards from the head.
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