Goliath beetle
| Goliath beetle | ||||||||||||
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Goliath beetle ( Goliathus regius ) Klug, 1835 |
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| Goliathus | ||||||||||||
| Lamarck , 1801 |
The Goliath beetles ( Goliathus ) represent a genus of beetles from the subfamily of the rose beetles (Cetoniinae).
description
Goliath beetles can grow up to four inches in length. The color of the chitin shell varies depending on the species. Goliathus orientalis is white with a black grid pattern on the elytra and some black spots and stripes on the thorax . Goliathus goliatus has dark red-brown elytra . The thorax is black with some thin vertical white stripes. The head is elongated with a small appendage on which there is a forked horn in males. The antennae are very short and at the end they thicken into a club.
distribution
The beetles are native to West and Central Africa, where they inhabit tropical rainforests and tree savannas. The nocturnal animals usually sit on the trunks and branches of various trees, from whose sap they feed. With a larval weight of up to 110 grams, the Goliath beetle is the heaviest insect of all. Dead beetles are very popular with collectors and fetch high prices in the market. The larvae are up to 15 centimeters long, very large Related known to us grubs . They live in and on dead wood . These large grubs are highly valued by the population in Central Africa as a source of protein in their diet. After pupation , the beetles hatch within four weeks and then live for about three months.
Systematics
There are five types of Goliath beetles, some of which have different subspecies and forms.
- Goliathus goliatus ( Linnaeus , 1771)
- Goliathus albosignatus Boheman , 1857
- Goliathus regius Klug , 1835
- Goliathus cacicus ( Voet , 1779)
- Goliathus orientalis Moser , 1909
In addition, there is a nature hybrid of Goliathus regius and Goliathus cacicus on the Ivory Coast , which is called Goliathus atlas ( Nickerl , 1887) and, according to its origin, is not a species , but a Klepton (past participle from Greek κλέπτω - klepto = steal) is.
swell
- ↑ www.hier-krabbelts.de ( Memento from May 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) - website about African rose beetles
literature
- Arndt Löwenberg: Exotic Beetles: Care and breeding of rose and giant beetles in the terrarium . bede, Ruhmannsfelden 1999, ISBN 3-933646-44-8 .
- Gilbert Lachaume: The Beetles of the World 3: Goliathini 1 . Sciences Nat, Venette 1983 (English).
