[87] Report of the State Entomologist. 229 



Description. 



The beetle, although " horrid " in the eyes of the gentleman commu- 

 nicating it, is, to the entomologist, from its size, form, and ornament- 

 ation, a beautiful and attractive specimen of the Coleoptera. It is, 

 perhaps, the largest of our 

 United States beetles. The 

 maximum size of the males 

 before me (not the largest that 

 occurs) is two and one-half 

 inches in length (three and 

 one-half inches with legs ex- 

 tended), one and one-tenth inch 

 across the abdomen, and eight- 

 tenths of an inch in thickness 

 of body. The female has the 

 general form of the much 

 smaller grapevine beetle, Pelid- 

 nota punctata. The male has 

 quite a different aspect, being 

 armed anteriorly with two stout 



black horns of a half-inch or 



, „ , . , ,, Fig. 26. —The Rhinoceros beetle, Dynastes 



more in length, of which the Tityus, male. 



upper is a straight projection of the anterior part of the 

 thorax, curving slightly toward its notched tip, and bearing 

 stiff yellow hairs beneath ; the lower one on the crown of the 

 head curves upward to meet the other. On each side of, and near to, 

 the thoracic horn is a black, short, sharp-pointed horn or spine. The 

 thorax and wing-cov- 

 ers are of a pale olive- 

 brown, the latter dot- 

 ted irregularly with 

 black spots of various 

 sizes and shapes, of 

 which some may be 

 ocellated. Beneath, Fig. 27.— Side view of the Rhinoceros beetle, 



the abdomen is black. The legs are shining black, strong, and armed 

 with stout spines and bristles. Fig. 26 represents the male as seen 

 from above, and Fig. 27 as seen from the side. 



Variation. — Much variation is presented in the colors and markings 

 of these beetles, and particularly in the females. One example in 

 my collection has the thorax black, while in another both the thorax 

 and the wing-covers are very dark brown. A male before me has the 



