It’s mound time again on the pastures and house lawn, but this time I see they are caused by a much bigger beetle. This large native rhinoceros beetle, Strategus Aloeus, reaches 1.5 inches in length and feeds on decaying vegetation and roots. It is a beneficial part of the ecology and I’m seeing a lot of them in action this week. My mom found this horned male back in Fall and the hornless female from the same time was a better image than I could get recently. I’m catching glimpses of them in surface burrows but no good photo op yet. These have been renamed “ox beetle” in recent times to avoid confusion with a similar, invasive palm rhinoceros beetle, but I still use the old common name from the field guides of my youth. Triceratops beetle would be better still. Catch and release, as usual.
James V. Freeman is an established visual artist (oil painting) with a deep interest in natural history, plants and farming. He has had numerous solo shows, a solo museum show, an upcoming museum show and his work has been featured in many publications to date. He currently has a studio in Williston, Fl at the family farm and homestead, "Cactus Island", and as a farmer, specializes in growing columnar cacti of the Caribbean and Gulf countries as well as the aquatic Madegascar Lace Plant. James and his mom Sharon manage and develop the permaculture homestead.
Cactus Island Nursery