Heavyweight Champions Animal Armory

Sacred to the ancient Egyptians and made into amulets still popular today, scarabs are a family of beetles consisting of more than 30,000 species. The largest and strongest of these is the rhinoceros beetle. There are more than 300 kinds of rhinoceros beetle living on every continent except for Antarctica. These abundant herbivores are easy to spot. Their unique shapes and giant size have earned them names like the elephant beetle, unicorn beetle, and Hercules beetle. Among the largest beetles in the world, some reach more than six inches in length. Despite their massive size and fearsome looks, they're quite harmless and don't sting or bite. But they're not lightweights in the insect world. Rhino beetles can lift up to 850 times their own weight, making them one of the strongest animals in the world. Each species has its own distinctive horns. The Hercules beetle has a unique horn that curves down from its back and another up from its head. The caliper beetle sports a narrow horn with a serrated edge which it uses to lift and shove. The Japanese rhino beetle's upward-curving horn is used to twist its foes off branches. These dangerous-looking weapons don't defend against predators, nor are they used to hunt prey. They're tools for digging and fighting other males when it's time to mate.