Q: My husband found this beetle at a convenience store in Carroll county and brought it home. We have no idea what it is. We were hoping you could help us to identify it.

A: It’s a female Hercules beetle, Dynastes tityus. You don’t need to flip it over to decide its sex. Males have a “horn” projecting from their heads while females do not.

Little is known about what the adults eat but they fly about at night and are attracted to lamp posts.

One of my fondest memories is when one flew through the open windows of our local church during revival meeting and clanged into the light fixture hanging above the congregation.

It drew so much attention as it buzzed around the sanctuary that the preacher saved nary a soul that night.

See also Kentucky Hercules Beetles and Study of Northern Virginia Ecology.

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