“Hercules” beetle: The strongest animal in the world lifts… 850 times its own weight – Newsbomb – News

The “rhinoceros beetle” known as the strongest insect in the world, was spotted in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari Province, in the southeastern tip of Turkey. The villager, who spotted the insect while cutting trees, said that after researching online, he learned that the value of the insect was 90 thousand dollars, according to Yeni Safak.

“We found it inside a log while we were cutting down trees yesterday morning. We couldn’t figure out what insect it was at first. Later, when we researched it on the Internet, we learned that it was a rhinoceros beetle, which lives in forested areas and warm climates on the Asian continent,” Turan Erci said.

“According to internet data, it was worth 90 thousand dollars. Of course, we don’t know exactly. But it is a type of insect that can carry hundreds of times its own weight. We released it back into its natural habitat,” he said.

“Hercules beetle”: The giant horns for love and war

This Beetle (Dynastinae, Rhinoceros or Hercules) whatever you call it is a force of nature and lives primarily in the tropical forests of Central America, South America and the Lesser Antilles. A “Hercules beetle” considered the strongest animal in the world as it can lift and carry 850 times its body weight, as if a person could lift 20 medium-sized cars! A huge African elephant proportionally can only lift 25% of its own weight.

Rhinoceros beetles are so named for the horn-like protrusions on the heads of the males. They can grow up to 17cm, making them some of the largest insects in the world. They use their strength and their horns, quickly digging into the ground to escape danger.

There are many different species, some of which become really huge and are even kept as pets, but the European is not one of them, as it does not exceed 4 cm at most. Despite their rather wild appearance, they are gentle “giants” that neither bite nor sting.

The male beetle has a long, intimidating horn on its head that curves upwards and is used for ritual mating battles;. Females that are smaller and do not have horns lay about 50 eggs, which hatch into larvae. Longevity varies between species, but a typical lifespan is one to two years, with much of that time spent in the larval stage.