Summer is a great time for enjoying nature. Featured today is an eastern Hercules beetle (Dynastes tityus). It is among the heaviest and longest in the United States.* As seen in the above photo, the beetle is larger than a quarter. Imagine happening upon it in a parking lot, or, stepping on it in your yard. If you look closely at the above specimen, you can see that it is cracked and dead. When they are living and healthy, they are darker. This is the first one we've ever seen in Greensboro.
If you enjoy bug watching as much as we do and live in North Carolina, here is a bug identification guide for our state. Summer is just getting started and most of us are still in the honeymoon stage with the season. After another week or two, we all may be looking for something different to do, especially in households full of children. Consider bug watching. In Greensboro, we are lucky enough to have a great science center where employees are usually gracious enough to help with critter identification.
*reference and read more, here.
Boy, that one is big. We don't get them here of that size.
Posted by: William Kendall | Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 05:10 PM