@zestyatbest submitted: Hello! The other day I was mucking around in some leaves and I found THIS massive guy!
I figured it probably wasn’t living its best life in a pile of leaves on the concrete so I took it home and got it into a nice big tank. It’s a good thing I did; the pile of leaves was gone two days later, all swept up.
What sort of grub is this?? I looked online and it says it’s probably a western Hercules beetle grub… if so then that’s amazing, I love beetles!! Please tell me if I should let this lil guy go though, I don’t want to keep something that really shouldn’t be in captivity, even if I’m looking after it carefully.
I’d love some ID so I can properly take care of them and know what to expect after they pupate. I’m in [removed] (please remove location). Any clues? Thank you so much!
Ohhh what a man (gender neutral)! Quick shout out to the millipede in the first photo, though. It’s a scarab beetle grub, for starters. Given your area and the fact that it’s scooting around on its backside, it’s very unlikely it’s a western Hercules beetle. It’s most likely a green June beetle in the genus Cotinis. The common green June beetle, Cotinis nitida, is more common in your area, but it’s also possible it’s a figeater, Cotinis mutabilis.