The Rugose Stag Beetle
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when it comes to learning about biology, binomial nomenclature is where it’s at. Scientific names can tell you so much about an organism. Take Sinodendron for example.. sino for nose, and dendron for the Greek work for tree or branch-like. The species name rugosum, is Latin for ‘full of wrinkles, folds, and creases.
So there you have it. We’re off to a really good start. It is an organism that has a thing on its nose and it’s got wrinkles.. and sure enough, Sinodendron rugosum, sometimes called the rhinoceros beetle, has a horn on it’s nose and a rugose carapace. They are more accurately called Rugose Stag Beetles because the mandibles on the male, which may be as long as the body, are branched and bear a resemblance to the antlers of a stag. However, upon closer inspection, I think this little guy more closely resembles teenie tiny triceratops.
I always grew up thinking rhinoceros beetles were relegated to Europe, with a few of their exotic cousins residing in the jungles of Central America or Africa. Not so.. they are found on every continent except Antarctica.. and this species is in fact a native to British Columbia. He is the first of his species I’ve ever come across, so I’ll try and keep my excitement in check.
I found this little guyon a walk in early July of last year. It was around 7:00pm when I spotted him crawling under a piece of bark on a large fallen alder trunk in the woods near my home. At only 8mm in length, it first looked to be just another common LLB (little brown beetle).. until it caught the light! It turns out that the rugose carapace it’s sporting is also incredibly shiny, almost metallic. The small undulations on its back twinkle like tiny, jet-black jewels.
Like all Stag Beetles, members of family Lucanidae are highly sexually dimorphic. Males feature enlarged head modifications while females, usually smaller in size, do not. Despite its slow speed, S. rugosum is very strong for its size. Like all Stag beetles species, it seems to defy normal physics with its ability to grab on and hold tight with its clawed legs. This comes in handy when males fight eachother in the presence of females.
They are primarily nocturnal and feed on plant matter (alder, birch, maple, oak trees). Females will lay eggs on tree bark and in short order, tiny crescent-shaped, white larvae hatch and begin to tunnel inward, creating pupal chambers. This ultimately damages the tree, buy hey.. they’re soo cute! Who’s a cute little triceratops? Yes, you are..
– Aaron