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    Forest insect pest

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    elephant beetle

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    Forest insect pest

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    7 views2 pages

    Elephant Beetle

    Uploaded by

    hammadasif948
    Forest insect pest

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Elephant beetle (Megasoma elephas)

    Kingdom Anamilia
    Phylum Arthropoda
    Class Insecta
    Order Coleoptera
    Family Scarabaeidae
    Genus Megasoma
    Species M. elephas
    The elephant beetle (Megasoma elephas) is a member of the family Scarabaeidae. Elephant
    beetles are located in southern Mexico, Central America, and in South American

    Description:
    Elephant beetles are black in color and covered with a coat of fine microscopic hairs. The hairs
    grow particularly thick on the beetle's elytra. The hairs give the beetle's body a yellowish color.
    Males have two horns protruding from the head and another from the prothorax. Females have no
    horns. The horns are used for defense, and in competition among males for food and mates. In
    size, elephant beetles range between 7 and 12 cm (2.75–4.75 in); males are sometimes even
    bigger. Males are around 2 to 3 times bigger than the females.

    LIFE CYCLE:

    Elephant beetle larvae develop in large decaying logs and take up to three years to develop into
    adult beetles, depending upon the subspecies. The female elephant beetle lays her eggs inside the
    decaying log or in the ground. Some weeks after that (usually 3) the eggs hatch into C-shaped
    larvae, white grubs with brown heads and six legs. The larval stage lasts around 29 months,
    during which time the grubs consume organic matter. The third and last stage, the pupal stage,
    lasts around 5 weeks at a temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. The life span of an adult elephant
    beetle is around one to three months.
    Food:

    Elephant beetles eat the sap of particular trees and ripened fallen fruits. In captivity, they also eat
    exotic fruits such as pineapples, longan, lychee fruit, and bark from certain trees like
    the poinciana.

    Behaviour and Habitat:

    Elephant beetles live in rainforests and are mainly active during the night. They are able to
    maintain a high internal body heat when foraging despite reduced ambient temperature. Elephant
    beetle population has been depleted by the destruction of the rain-forests, which has reduced
    their grounds for mating. In some countries such as Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and others in Central
    America the male's head is used as a charm necklace, decorated with gold. This has affected the
    population severely.

    Control:

    Cultural Control:

    Beetles can be excluded with netting of a suitable mesh size (20 mm mesh or less).

    Manual removal from trees is sometimes undertaken. Larvae feed on rotting organic matter and
    heavy mulching of trees may attract beetles to lay their eggs in this material. This will increase
    the problem in subsequent seasons.

    Biological

    Entomophagous fungi probably account for a significant proportion of larvae.

    Chemical

    There is currently no chemical control for this pest.

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