Destined For Greatness: Kabutomushi no Youchu

JARED: This is a kabutomushi no youchu (Rhinoceros Beetle Larva). We found 19 of them last weekend in the forest buried next to a rotting tree stump. We are keeping them until they turn into adult kabutomushi. Kabutomushi are some of the largest beetles. Kids in Japan keep them as pets and like to have them fight each other. They look gross to me, but I can't wait until they're beetles. They have 6 legs, just like adult insects. There's 9 dots on each of their sides that they breathe through. These larvae poop 8,000-10,000 times in their lives and will eat about 3 liters of wood and dirt. I rate them 5 insect legs out of 6.

EVERETT: It's kimochi warui (gross)! But I like youchu (larvae). It's as big as my hand. I like it because it turns into kabutomushi!

Underneath.

The head has a hard shell covering it.

They bury themselves in dirt until they're adults.

Jared & Everett digging the larvae out.

All 19 larvae. If you look closely, you can see 2 of them pooping.

Trypoxylus dichotomus. (Adult rhinoceros beetles.)