Plate 055 · male on a Chusquea cane IdentificationSix marks on the plate
- 1Long head horn, slender and curved backwards.
- 2Pronotal horn, upright, shorter than the head horn.
- 3Glossy black pronotum. It contrasts with the wing cases.
- 4Yellowish-brown wing cases with fine striae.
- 5Long front legs with toothed tibiae.
- 6Short antenna with a clubbed tip of plates, typical of scarabs.
Easily confused with Pampas rhinoceros beetleDiloboderus abderusAll black and stouter; the male pronotum ends in a forked plate. More common in open country. 055 / 100 · INVERTEBRATES · SCARABAEIDAENOT EVALUATED Golofa rhinoceros beetle
Golofa pelagon
Escarabajo rinoceronte
One of the most striking horned beetles of the Yungas. The male carries a long, slender horn on the head and another on the pronotum; the female has no horns. It has been recorded in summer at San Javier, El Siambón and Yerba Buena.
- Subfamily
- Dynastinae
- Altitude
- c. 500 – 1,800 m
- Adults
- Jan – Mar
- Horns
- male only
- Rhinoceros beetle
- Summer adult
- Sexually dimorphic
- Native
Altitude rangeFrom the foothills to montane forest
Records in NW Argentina Records run from Yerba Buena, at about 500 m, up to pino del cerro woods in Catamarca and Jujuy Yungas above 1,400 m. The exact range in Tucumán has not been studied.
FoodTender shoots and wood
- Cane shootsChusquea · recorded in the genus
- Sap of young stemsadults
- Rotting woodlarvae · in other Golofa
The diet of G. pelagon has not been studied. Adults of other Golofa feed on young Chusquea stems, and their larvae live in rotting logs and soil.
BehaviourA summer horn-bearer
J F M A M J J A S O N D Adults active - Out with the rains. Adults appear in high summer, from January to March.
- Horns for fighting. In rhinoceros beetles, males use their horns to push rivals away. Horn size varies a lot between males.
- A good climber. The male has long front legs with strong claws that grip stems and canes.
Where to look in Tucumán- Sierra de San Javier
- El Siambón
- Reserva Experimental Horco Molle