This upcoming Sunday a group of the enormous Hercules beetles will be released in Randers Regnskov’s South American dome, where they will roam freely.
The name of the Hercules beetles is not randomly chosen. Like the mythical character Hercules, these beetles are amazingly strong; They are able to lift objects more than 50 times their own weight! In the human world, an adult man of 80 kg should lift about 4 tons – equal to about 20 tapirs – to be as strong as the Hercules beetles!
Male Hercules beetles have large horns on their head which are used to fight other males. Not surprisingly, the aim of these battles is to gain the females favour. To fight for a female is not without risks, though, since the battles often end with one of the males losing his head. The winning male, however, will often grab the female afterwards, lift her up and walk around with her like a trophy!
LUSCIOUS LARVAE!
Like other beetles, the Hercules beetles start their lives as larvae – an extremely large larvae that is! Right before pupation the larvae can be more than 10 cm long and weigh well over 100 g.
Many places in the world these fatty larvae are regarded as a delicacy – among others, the Verde Sumaco Indians of Ecuador. Here the kids eat the Hercules larvae as candy, either while they’re still alive (remember to bite off the head before you eat it!), or they fry them until they are nice and crispy. In association with a visit in the Verde Sumaco tribe, representatives from Randers Regnskov had the opportunity to taste these luscious larvae. According to them, the larvae tasted a bit like greasy cracklings!
