Oryctes rhinoceros
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Oryctes rhinoceros, also known as coconut rhinoceros beetle, Asiatic rhinoceros beetle, and coconut palm rhinoceros beetle, is a large species of beetle (typically 4–5 cm long), belonging to the rhinoceros beetles subfamily Dynastinae. Oryctes rhinoceros attacks coconut palms and other palms such as the economically important oil palm. It can cause serious damage to the developing fronds (leaves) up to death of the palm. The beetle breeds in decaying palm trunks or other organic matter like sawdust or compost heaps.
The native distribution of this beetle covers most parts of tropical Asia, from India and the Maldives in the west to countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, most parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and southern China in the east. Through human activity, it has been accidentally introduced into a larger number of tropical islands in the Pacific starting with Samoa where larvae arrived in 1909 with the soil of rubber seedlings from Ceylon (Sri Lanka). From Samoa, the coconut rhinoceros beetle spread to many others parts of the Pacific. Its distribution range also expanded to several islands in the Indian Ocean, in the Western Pacific... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denpasar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Cebu City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 3 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 4 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 5 | Surabaya | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Surakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 8 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 9 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Yogyakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle sighting in Tainan on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 47th most-seen of the 97 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle in Tainan on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May, July–August and November, the lowest months. That is one of Tainan's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 440 mm in August.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
17th of 25
Of the 25 cities where we can rate Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle sightings, Tainan ranks 17th at about 10%. The best odds are in Denpasar (Indonesia, about 40%), Cebu City (Philippines, about 30%) and Davao City (Philippines, about 30%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle that you can see in Tainan (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Oriental Flower Beetle (about 10%), Nigrotrichia sauteri (about 10%) and Anomala expansa (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Tainan (9 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
