The Goliath Beetle (Goliathus goliatus) is a large African insect featured in the Standard Edition of Planet Zoo.
Zoopedia Description[]
General[]
Population in the Wild: Unknown
The Goliath beetle (or Goliathus goliatus) is a large species of insect that lives in the savannah and rainforests of Central Africa. The males and females are different in appearance and size; the males being larger - between 2.4in and 4in - with a dark brown abdomen, a brown thorax with white stripes, black legs, as well as a white head with a Y-shaped horn. The females have shorter, thinner stripes on the thorax, are smaller in size - between 2in and 3.2in - and do not have a horn. Little is known about the life cycle of this species in the wild, but it is threatened by habitat loss due to destruction of the rainforests that it lives.
Social[]
Goliath beetles are solitary animals - other than to mate or compete over mates, they do not interact in the wild.
Reproduction[]
Male Goliath beetles establish a territory, fighting off rival males using the Y-shaped horn on their head and detecting any females that move through this territory via pheromonal signals. Once they have mated, the female will dig a shallow hole in sandy soil and lay her eggs inside, where they will hatch into larvae between 12 to 14 days later. The larvae will forage on decaying plant and animal matter on the forest floor until they reach approximately 3.5oz in weight; at this point they will bury themselves in the ground and pupate, remaining there for 5 months, hatching after the rainy season has made the ground moist. It takes approximately 1 year for an egg to become an adult, and these fully-grown beetles emerge to begin to search for mates.
Animal Care[]
|
PREFERRED OBJECTS | |
|---|---|
|
DIET | |
|
HABITAT ENRICHMENT | |
Trivia[]
Zoopedia Fun Facts[]
- Goliath beetles are part of the scarab beetle family.
- The Goliath beetle can reach lengths of 4.4in, and is the largest and heaviest insect in the world.
- The Goliath beetle uses its tarsi (feet claws) to scratch at the bark of trees and extract sap.
- The larvae of the Goliath beetle require a high protein diet to achieve their large size as adults, so it is very important where a female chooses to lay her eggs.
- Goliath beetles have a short lifespan as adults; when they emerge from their pupa, they begin searching for a mate and will die soon after mating.