Dynastes tityus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Dynastes tityus, the eastern Hercules beetle, is a species of rhinoceros beetle native to the Eastern United States. The adult's elytra are green, gray or tan, with black markings, and the whole animal, including the male's horns, may reach 60 mm (2.4 in) in length. The larvae feed on decaying wood from various trees.
Dynastes tityus is known by a number of common names, including eastern Hercules beetle, elephant beetle and ox beetle. It was first given a scientific name by Carl Linnaeus, in his 1763 work Centuria Insectorum, where it was called Scarabaeus tityus; when Linnaeus' genus Scarabaeus was divided into smaller genera, S. tityus was renamed Dynastes tityus.
Adults of both sexes are 20–27 millimeters (0.8–1.1 in) wide, and males are 40–60 millimeters (1.6–2.4 in) long, including a long horn (the pronotal horn) which projects forwards from the thorax of the male; a second horn (the clypeal horn) projects upwards from the head. Dynastes tityus is therefore "among the longest and heaviest beetles in the United States". The horns are used in battles between rival males competing for a mate; the size of the horn reflects the availability... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Hercules Beetle sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 236th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, June–August and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Hercules Beetle in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–May and September–November, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Hercules Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Eastern Hercules Beetle sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Hercules Beetle that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Japanese Beetle (about 20%), High Mountain June Beetle (about 10%) and Grapevine Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Hercules Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (22 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
