Golf - Sunday 11th January 2015

At last, some nice gentle, steady rain that will revitalise our course and gardens.  A pity that it had to rain on our social Sunday leaving us at a loss of what to do on a wet day.

The Pennants golf went ahead with the rain slow but steady.  The greens were fine so the golf could go ahead.  We had a few players out there including would-have-been competition players and some keen social players.

To give you something to read I am featuring the Rhinoceros Beetle after getting some photos through from John and Julie Hazzard.  I have never seen a Rhinoceros Beetle so here is some information for those who have never seen them either:

Scientific name: Subfamily Dynastinae

Description:,Rhinoceros beetles are herbivorous insects named for the horn-like projections on and around the heads of males. Most are black, Gray, or greenish in colour, and some covered in soft hairs.

Another name given to some of these insects is Hercules beetles, because they possess strength of a Herculean proportion.

Adults in some species can lift objects 850 times their weight! That would be equivalent to a human lifting 9 fully grown male elephants! One of the uses for extreme strength is for the beetles to dig themselves into leaf litter and soil to escape danger. Their horns also help them to do this.

Size: Rhinoceros beetles can grow up to 6 inches, making them some of the largest beetles around.

Diet: All Rhinoceros beetles are herbivorous.  The adults feed on fruit, nectar and sap. The larvae eat decaying plant matter.

Typical Lifespan: longevity varies among species, but typical lifespan is one to two years. Much of this may be spent in larval stage.

Habitat: Leaf litter, plants and fallen logs provide a safe hideout for Rhinoceros beetles during the day.

Range: Rhinoceros beetles can be found on every continent except Antartica.

Fun Fact: when disturbed, Rhinoceros beetles can produce hissing squeeks. These are not actually vocal noises. Instead, they are produced when rubs their abdomen and wing covers together.

For more information you can look up the National Wild Life Fedation on the web where I found these details.

I know you will all be thrilled with this information, but it does fill in a wet day!!!!!

My thanks to John and Julie Hazzard for sending me some photos.