Do you know of the tiniest rhinos and the littlest deer? You’ve probably heard of them before.

Do you know of the tiniest rhinos and the littlest deer?You’ve probably heard of them before. You’ve seen them in cartoons. You’ve had someone mischievously ask you what the strongest animal in the world was. I’m talking about the Coleoptera. Beetles, of course!Notorious among farmers for their unstoppable sweet tooth; the rhinoceros and the stag beetles are mighty creatures. Both have unique weaponry on their heads. They are nocturnal and love to hide around leaf litter.The rhinoceros beetle is a popular pet for young boys in Japan. They’re named for their distinct rhino horns. They appear on nearly every continent with a stunning variety of horn shapes and sizes. They are often adorned with two, three or even five horns.Some have huge horns pointing forward. Others have upward curving horns. Some have a ring of small horns. Others have a horn pronged like a pitchfork. They are large insects with the biggest being up to 17 cm (6 nearly 7 inches) long. Rhino beetles use their horns for battle. The many different shapes lead to many different fighting techniques. Large pincers are for grabbing and wrestling. Pronged fork-like horns are for twisting and tossing. Slender swords are for lifting and jolting. The most famous rhino beetle is the impressive Hercules; the biggest beetle in the world.Some beetles don’t have horns but rather long jaws resembling a deer’s antlers. These are the stag beetles. Stag beetles also use their weaponry for battle. They have wide heads with powerful muscles to snap those long jaws shut. The jaws also vary in shape. Some are longer, some are shorter and some curve down (making walking comically difficult for the insect). The female stag beetles (like the female rhino beetles) do not own such impressive jaws.So what does it mean to be a beetle? All beetles have two pairs of wings. One pair is hardened and acts as armor for their second pair- which they use to fly. You might assume that the bulky headgear would make these beetles very poor flyers. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Flying is, in fact, absolutely necessary for them (they are rather pathetic at walking anywhere). It is the very fact that they fly so well that has allowed them to develop such elaborate horns. They don’t look aerodynamic but the insects have no problem in the air. They fly so slow that drag has no effect on them. Their horns are hollow and since there is no need for them to be aerodynamic, they are free to develop into all sorts of shapes and sizes.Rhino and stag beetles are proof of the creativity of the natural world.The rhino beetle was the previous record holder for strongest animal in the world (for his size). But his record has been beaten by the dungbeetle.http://bit.ly/1bl2Bifhttp://bbc.in/1H8jZ6Zhttp://bit.ly/1J2LD65http://bit.ly/1JZsu2EPictures http://bit.ly/1DDT5zTand http://bit.ly/1OyAh8o -- source link

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