'Unicorn' of the Congo

By Bruce G. Marcot, Ecology Picture of the Week:

Dusk fell fast here. I am in the village of Ituta, an overnight camping stop along the banks of Channel Irebu that connects Lake Tumba to the Congo River in central Africa. We are carrying a small gas generator and, as we power it up for the flourescent light, it soon attracts a cadre of carapaced invertebrates ... including this monster beetle, the unicorn of the Congo, a rhinoceros beetle. 

Despite their fierce appearance -- they grow 2.4-3.5 inches long (60-90 millimeters) long -- these beetles are safe to handle. As I shot these photos, I found one crawling up my back, and another on my leg. Friendly sorts.

Grubs (technically, the instar larvae) of this beetle are often raised in captivity.  In central Africa, the grubs are collected in the wild as a good source of protein used in the diets by local people.  But when this beetle gets hungry, it's considered a pest, especially when it damages plantations of coconut palms.  

  --Bruce G. Marcot

Image and text © Bruce G. Marcot, Ph.D. Research Wildlife Ecologist,
who produces the Ecology Picture of the Week website.