Oryctes (genus)
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Oryctes Illiger, 1798 - (rhinoceros beetles)
This genus of dynastid beetles contains more than 50 species, including a number of important palm pests. In several species, the adults attack the heart of the palms and feed on the young developing fronds. The larvae live in dead tree trunks and other sources of decaying wood or organic matter. The adults are 3-6 cm long and most species have a similar appearance. Males usually have a horn on the head with small specimens having small and large specimens longer horns. Dynastids from other genera might be also called rhinoceros beetles.
Important pests which have caused recent outbreaks are Oryctes rhinoceros, attacking coconut and oil palms in Asia and the Pacific, as well as Oryctes agamemnon in the Near East and northern Africa with the larvae damaging the roots of date palms, causing collapse of the trees.
Currently, the following species have been entered into the system:
