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 Identification Scientific Name: Chalcosoma caucasus Common Names: Chalcosoma, atlas beetle Classification Class: Insecta Order: Coleoptera Family: Scarabaeidae Subfamily: Dynastinae Genus: Chalcosoma Species: caucasus |
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Habitat
The atlas beetle occurs in the hills and mountains of Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Java and Borneo. Active mainly at night, this beetle, one of the largest insects on earth, feeds on plant residue, leaf litter and decaying logs and stumps. Atlas beetles are particularly abundant during the months of July and August.
Profile
Imagine a triceratops covered in a black armour as shiny as Darth Vader's helmet in the film Star Wars and you will have a pretty good idea of what a atlas beetle looks like. This beetle is one of the most spectacular in the scarab subfamily, which consists of around 20 000 species.
Male and female atlas beetles differ in many respects. The males are bigger, and only they have the enormous pointed and curved horns that make them look so menacing.
There are conflicting views as to the real use of these amazing appendices. Generally, it is agreed that the males engage in battle over breeding rights or to defend feeding sites, but such encounters do not usually end in serious injury. It is by the horns that entomologists usually pick these " beasts " up. In actual fact, the Chalcosoma caucasus is quite harmless and feeds on sap, soft fruits and other plant matter.
There are many species of Chalcosoma, each characterized by the animal's size, the shape of its horns or the colours of its carapace; the three-horned beetle, for instance, is a lustrous green, while the granddaddy of the Malayasian Chalcosoma, the Atlas beetle, is jet black.
By contrast, the female is far smaller and less rare, and possesses a fine covering of tiny reddish hairs (setae).
Like most coleopterans, atlas beetles are apterous (winged) and, despite their impressive size, they are quite capable of flying. And like June bugs, they are attracted by night lights.
Females deposit their eggs in decaying plant residue. The eggs produce very large whitish larvae that may take years before maturing into adult beetles. Nature takes her time to shape these magnificent creatures, one of the loveliest gifts the rainforests of southeast Asia have to offer.
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