The Amazing and Aptly Named Hercules Beetle

The Hercules Beetle is among the most recognizable beetles. This beetle is made into children’s toys and many science fiction creatures are modeled after its’ unique jaws. Needless to say, this is a terrifying beetle. This beetle is largely unbeatable in the insect world. The Hercules beetle is designed to wrestle just about any predator into submission. But what is most impressive is this beetle’s ability to carry items that far outweigh the weight of its own body.

The Hercules Beetle is the largest of all the rhinoceros beetles, and third largest of all beetles of all types. The male Hercules beetle is much smaller than its female counterpart, but is still just a shade under seven inches long. And most impressive is the male Hercules beetle’s ability to lift 850 times its own body weight, which makes these animals the strongest animals, comparative to size, in the world–hence the name.

The male beetles will combat other male beetles of the same type by lifting them into the air with their wings and then slamming their enemy onto the ground with so much force that the loser male beetles suffers a fatal broken neck. This is perhaps the only insect capable of the body slam. And of course, all this fighting is done in order to secure a mate.

Can you think of other insect species that have impressive strength similar to the Hercules beetle?