Western Hercules Beetle (Dynastes grantii)

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

Western Hercules beetles are a stunning species found in mountainous regions of the Southwest United States.  The grey-green spotted elytra and distinctive pronotal horn characteristic of beetles in the Dynastes genus make this beetle the pride of the American beetle hobby. 

Dynastes grantii is the largest beetle in North America.  Males can reach almost 90mm for captive bred individuals while wild caught beetles range from 35mm to 80mm.  

The lifespan of these beetles tend to be short with wild individuals usually living between 2-4 months.  In the wild the beetles emerge in late summer until the early fall and die as the weather turns from fall to winter.  However, in captivity they can live longer lives with good husbandry.  There are reports of captive reared samples living as long as 9 months although that time frame is certainly not the norm for these beetles.

We personally collected these WILD CAUGHT Western Hercules Beetles in the mountains of Arizona during the 2nd week of September.  Wild caught females are generally considered very likely to be mated by the time they are collected.

Suggested substrate container sizes for Western Hercules Beetles are:

• L1: 4 oz. container
• L2: 12-16 oz. container
• Early L3: 32 oz. container
• Late L3: 64 oz. container

Adult Western 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).