Eastern Hercules Beetle (Dynastes tityus)

IMPORTANT: Live beetles cannot be released into non-native habitats under any circumstances.  Please contact me to re-home any unwanted non-native beetles.

Eastern Hercules beetles (Dynastes tityus) are the stunning Eastern US counterpart to Dynastes grantii.  These Eastern and Western cousins share many similar characteristics including the large pronotal horns and spotted elytra.  The Eastern is slightly smaller and usually has a smaller curved pronotal horn.

Dynastes tityus is a very large rhinoceros beetle.  Only second to the Western Hercules beetle in North America.  Males can reach 70mm while females are generally slightly smaller due to not having the horns typical of the Dynastes genus.

The lifespan of these beetles is longer than it's western cousin.  With proper care and husbandry they can live around 6 months or more after becoming active.  Dormancy (the period of inactivity after emerging from the pupa stage) can be quite long however ranging from 3-8 months.  

Suggested substrate container sizes for Eastern Hercules Beetles are:

• L1: 4 oz. container
• L2: 16 oz. container
• Early L3: 32 oz. container
• Late L3: 64 oz. container

Adult Eastern Hercules Beetles can eat soft fruits such as banana, melons, peaches, etc.  Buying organic produce is a better option to avoid pesticides that can be found in fruit.  Also stay away from citrus fruits (too acidic) and watermelon as it's water content is too high to use as a regular food source.  The best choice though is probably beetle jelly since it is designed to provide beetles with the proper nutrients and with additional protein (helpful for breeding).