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Sticker of Lesser triceratops beetle
Bug card No. 2600 of 4,939

Lesser triceratops beetle

Hemiphileurus illatus
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsBeetlesDeserts and dry places6 legs

The lesser triceratops beetle is a shiny black rhinoceros beetle from the deserts of the south-western United States. Both males and females have a pair of horns, but the female's are just small bumps. It spends most of its life digging underground.

Lives in
The south-western United States, mainly Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and California
Length
1.9 to 2.5 cm (0.75 to 0.98 in)
Top speed
about 0.65 km/h (0.4 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is no danger to people or pets.
What does it eat?
It eats fresh or rotting plants and dead insects. It likes insects and eggs best of all.
For real!Photo of Lesser triceratops beetle
Picture by Pancakefordinner. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Lesser triceratops beetle about 2.5 cm long (0.98 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
as long as 4 grains of rice in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 5.5 seconds

How big is Lesser triceratops beetle compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Even though it is named after the three-horned dinosaur, it only has two horns.

2

All six of its legs have short spines.

3

Its babies are creamy white with reddish-brown heads. Above ground they move along lying on their sides.

4

When it is upset, it makes a quiet chirp.

5

In towns you might find it near compost heaps, and it is drawn to special purple lights at night.

you asked

Most asked questions about Lesser triceratops beetle

?Is the lesser triceratops beetle dangerous?

No. It is harmless to people and pets.

?How big is the lesser triceratops beetle?

It is about 2 to 2.5 centimetres long.

?What does the lesser triceratops beetle eat?

Rotting plants and dead insects. It likes insects and eggs best.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Hemiphileurus illatus
Group
Beetles
Family
Scarabaeidae
Classification
Insecta > Coleoptera > Scarabaeidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Hemiphileurus illatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Pancakefordinner. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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Honey jarfor grown-ups