TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida is no stranger to exotic animals making their way to the Sunshine State, but one bug made history after being one of the first of its species to be found here.
Travis Williamson told NBC affiliate WBBH that he was walking in north Fort Myers to look for more typical invasive species like chameleons and iguanas when he found an even more unusual specimen.
Instead of his scaly targets, Williamson found a dead Hercules beetle, one of the largest flying insects in the world.
“I just caught it off the side view on the ground,” he told WBBH. “I said no way. It had to be fake, it can’t be real. I know we ain’t got these.”
The beetle carcass was one of the first documented sightings of the large insect in the state of Florida, according to WBBH. Judging from its horns, this one was a male.
“Where it was found, it was more set back, more rural. Not a whole lot of houses back there,” Williams said. “But they do fly, so it could have flown in from the surrounding neighborhood or something.”
The University of Florida said that the giant horned beetle, known scientifically as Dynastes hercules, is primarily found in southern Mexico to Bolivia and the Lesser Antilles. It can also be found in parts of Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru.
The beetle is said to primarily feed on rotting fruit while its larvae feed on dead wood.
“A couple buddies I know are in college for Biology,” Williamson told WBBH. “They were all freaking out. They couldn’t believe I found it.”
According to WBBH, experts said that it is unlikely that the beetle was born in the wild and was likely someone’s pet that escaped before it died, although its origins are still unknown.