Rhinoceros Beetle Coloring Pages

A Big Rhinoceros Beetle in Japan!

The Rhinoceros Beetle is the most famous beetle living in Japan. It is the biggest beetle in Japan, and it is super strong, too!

It has a cool body and magnificent horns that only the males have. It is so cool that people call it the King of Insects!

Its body is reddish-brown to black.

What are the horns for?

Male Rhinoceros Beetle use their horns when they fight with other males. They fight over females or places to eat. Watching them use their horns to flip their rivals over is just like sumo wrestling. It looks so powerful!

What do they eat?

The Rhinoceros Beetle loves tree sap from oak trees! When night comes, they gather on trees that have sap. They also love sweet watermelon and bananas. If you keep one at home, feed it insect jelly. It will happily eat it and live a long time.

Where can you catch them?

The Rhinoceros Beetle mostly lives in mountains and forests across Japan. During the day, they often hide under tree leaves. But at night, they move around to drink tree sap. Sometimes, they gather around town lights, too.

How do they grow up?

The Rhinoceros Beetle comes from an egg. Then it becomes a larva, a pupa, and finally an adult. Female Rhinoceros Beetle lay eggs in leaf mold, which is soil made from fallen leaves. Larvae that hatch from eggs eat that leaf mold and grow bigger and bigger. The larva stage lasts for about one year, and they become big and chubby!

Differences between males and females

Males have a big horn on their head and a small horn on their chest. Their bodies are big and strong. Females do not have horns, and their bodies are a little smaller than males. But they have strong legs so they can lay eggs in the soil.

How long do they live?

In nature, adults live for about 1 to 2 months. It takes about 2 years for them to grow from an egg into an adult. It is a short time, but seeing the Rhinoceros Beetle live so powerfully is really cool!

How to Choose Colors: Make the Body Look Shiny!

• Body Color: The Rhinoceros Beetle has a shiny, dark brown or blackish-brown body. Try picking a dark brown or a brown close to black with your crayons or colored pencils. When light hits it, it shines! Keep that shiny feel in mind as you color.
• Horn Color: Just like the body, the horn looks cool if you color it dark brown or a blackish color.
• Eyes: A Rhinoceros Beetle's eyes can sparkle when they catch the light. Color them neatly in black, but leave a tiny white spot to make them look full of life!
• Legs: Color the legs in the same color as the body!

How to Add 3D Depth: Think About "Shadows" and "Light"!

The Rhinoceros Beetle's body is round and bumpy. Making it look 3D will make it look super cool!

• Shadowy Places: Try using a slightly darker color under the horn, on bumpy dips, and on the bottom of the body near the ground. This will show the strong 3D shape and thickness of the Rhinoceros Beetle!
• Bright Places: Use a slightly lighter color or layer a bright brown on top for bright spots where light hits, like the tip of the horn or the raised parts. That really shows off the shiny texture!

Let's Make It Glossy and Shiny!

The body of a Rhinoceros Beetle is shiny and smooth!

• When you color with pencils or crayons, do not fill in every spot smoothly. Instead, leave a small white spot, or gently layer a white colored pencil over your colors. It will look like bright light hitting the body! If you use paint, you can add a tiny dab of white paint before it dries and blend it in gently.

 Tips to Enjoy Your Coloring Page!

• Try adding a background!: Imagine where your Rhinoceros Beetle is in the forest, and draw a background too. Is it drinking tree sap in the night forest? Or hiding in the grass? Drawing trees, leaves, or the night sky creates a fun story!
• Express yourself freely!: You do not have to stick to real colors. It is so much fun to use any colors you like! A Space Rhinoceros Beetle or a Rainbow Rhinoceros Beetle would be amazing!

Are Those Impressive Horns Actually Hollow?

The impressive horn on a Rhinoceros Beetle's head looks heavy and solid, doesn't it? But actually, the inside of the horn is hollow (empty). It is said that if it were solid, its head would be too heavy to fly through the air. It is built to be light and strong!

One of the Strongest in the World!?

It is said that a Rhinoceros Beetle can lift more than 10 times its own body weight. This is just as amazing as a human lifting a big truck. It really has the power of a king of insects!

Did You Know Rhinoceros Beetles Can "Sing" Too?

Have you ever heard a "squeak" or "hiss" sound when you caught a Rhinoceros Beetle? Actually, a Rhinoceros Beetle can make sounds (sing) by rubbing its belly and wings together. It makes this sound when it is angry at an enemy or when it is surprised, so if you hear it, leave it alone, okay?