# What's this beetle? With picture

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 15, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573 "2008-07-15T15:44:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573/1 "2008-07-15T15:44:01Z")

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Located in a forest on on the Eastern shore of Maryland.

[Pic here - Beetle is quite large - about 2 1/4 inches long](http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p7121021wa1.jpg)

[Top view](http://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p7121031kk7.jpg)

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573/2 "2008-07-15T15:50:02Z")

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It’s a type of[Rhinocerous beetle](http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=rhinoceros+beetle&spell=1)

Looks like an [Eastern](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/246988532_21c027c50a.jpg?v=0)

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**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573/3 "2008-07-15T15:52:25Z")

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The big “claws” make me think it could be a member of the stag beetle family (Lucanidae), but I have never seen one that colour - they’re generally black or brown. I’ll see what I can find…

Edit - beaten to it. It’s not a stag beetle, it’s _Dynastes tityus_, otherwise called a unicorn beetle, I think.

[Link](http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/elytraandantenna/MantidsAssassins/Dynastes_tityus.htm).

[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn_beetle)

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**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-this-beetle-with-picture/456573/4 "2008-07-15T16:35:45Z")

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We have those in our barn every summer, plus the rhino beetles. They’re scary looking but harmless, more or less. Watching Jack attempt to figure out how to swat them properly to knock them onto their backs is funny.