Beetle Royale

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As part of Doug Emlen’s biology lab at the University of Montana in Missoula, Jillian del Sol was no stranger to bug battles. Year after year, study after study, species after species, students in Emlen’s lab have revealed the dramatic effects of sexual selection on male biological weaponry. So when she travel to East Asia to witness the tree trunk battles of the rhino beetles as part of her Ph.D. research, she came prepared to document the ecological conditions that influence chitinous combat. To her surprise, the successful male beetles didn’t just claim their prize after ousting their foes. Instead, they began to sing- or rather chirp and chitter at the females. This acoustic courtship continued even as they mated. Clearly, there was more to this mating system than just an escalating arms race between males. Now equipped with 150 beetles from field sites from Japan, del Sol aims to record these acoustic mating rituals in detail to hopefully discover why this bruiser bug suddenly turns from fighter to lover.

Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Jeramiah Jones, Audio Network, and Pond5
Additional Footage and Stills Provided by Jillian Delsol
Pond5, Louis Hollis (CC BY 2.0), Carol Burch-Brown (CC BY 2.0),
Flora Lichtman, Glacier National Park, (CC BY 2.0), Ian A. Nelson (CC BY 2.0)
Special Thanks to Annie Nero