Sunday, August 12, 2007

A Rhino on my shoe

Here in PNG we don’t have a lot of creepy crawlies, but what we do have is BIG!! This rhinoceros beetle was downstairs yesterday, so I thought I’d take its portrait!! It is attached itself to my thong when I tried to turn it over. We often only see them around the place when they are on their last legs - this one was on its back and not well!!!

The rhinoceros beetle is the strongest creature on the planet – proportionate to its size. It can carry 850 times its own weight which is amazing. I couldn’t work out why a rhinoceros beetle would need to be so strong – it’s not like it is a removalist…….or is it? This is an interesting link that answers the question.

They are quite harmless and apart from their ferocious appearance don’t bite or even charge, but make quite a loud hissing noise when you touch them. Kids in Asia have them as pets, but here they eat the new growth out of the coconut palms, so are considered a nuisance.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, thank you for stopping by and commenting. And your beetle is bigger than my tiny bee. And I have a beetle to post one of these days that is big. I just never thought about it.

I admire your shot a lot because you had to get close to this and it does look nasty.

I understand they are nearly harmless.

Thanks again.

Abraham Lincoln

Annie said...

That's a phenomenon indeed, Imagine having that as a "pet".

Neva said...

OMG I am so not a bug person and this would be creepy to me regardless! Good information though! AND a pet --hmmmmm --go figure.

Anonymous said...

Nice post. Thanks for the link, I learned something today.

Steve Cuddihy said...

I will have to show my son this photo in the morning, he has a book with this bug in it that he find fascinating.

Lavenderlady said...

I can not imagine having one as a pet...anything that hisses at me would not last long. Interesting link.

Anonymous said...

Jules, this will tell you about Riven. I had to think of it because of your post. Riven

Jules said...

hi all - I gather from all your comments you don't want one of these for Christmas - oh well back to the drawing board!!!!

abraham - looking forward to your beetle!!!

steve - thanks for the link will check it out and get back to you

neva - welcome back - I missed you!!!

Jules said...

slinger - hope your son enjoys the photo - kids just love bugs don't they??? One of my daughters picks these beetles up and chases the other around the house causing much bedlam and screaming!!!!

Tom said...

Great Shot, it certainly is a cracker of a beetle, I had to laugh Jules when you said it was attached to your Thong, over here Thong seem to be the latest must have underwear. My mind boggled there for a while. ha! Feel free to give me a virtual clip around the ears. Hope you enjoy - enjoyed your diving today.

Jules said...

old tom - you are a scream!!! I have a terrrible mental picture of that!!!! In Australia you wear thongs on your feet and you can wear them further up too!!!

But I give you the drum, if that beetle had got any further than my knee he'd be very dead and very flat!!!!

lv2scpbk said...

Oh! I thought Abrahams spider was bad. This looks work, although nice shot.

If you want to go on a treasure hunt in your hometown, go to my website to learn more.

M.Benaut said...

Dear Jules, after worrying all day about your safety amidst all these terrifying monsters of the Tropics, I can only say that I am relieved that it was only your thong that he crawled into.
Had this been me, my voice may have gone up one octave. !!

lv2scpbk said...

Jules, No I don't mind at all you adding me to your favorite links. It's an honor. I will see if your on my list too. Thanks.

travelphilippines said...

scaaaarrryyyyyyyyyyyy,.

Janet said...

He sure has that rhino look. Glad he doesn't bite!
About the heat in the states, this heat wave is very unusual, because it's hanging on for so long. Our temps last week were all 100 degrees F and over and are expected to stay that way through this week too. Here, we might hit the century mark a few times during the summer but not day after day after day!
Thanks for visiting.

Anonymous said...

Not so scary Jules but the size of it is amazing! I imagine it would give you quite a nip if you were to try to put your thongs on.

Jilly said...

This is amazing! Surprised you don't have lots of creepy crawlies. Somehow I thought you would.

Can't find your email address on the forum, so just to say thanks so much for adding Menton to your list. Dead chuffed! I'm in process of compiling a list too and you were already on it! I'll hope to be getting that sorted within the next week or so and up on the blog - lots of dogs at the moment so there's a hold up. Sorry for putting this on your blog - as I said, couldn't find email address.

Squirrel said...

beetles look strong--I like them, armor plated almost looks.