birdfotos.com
Hercules Beetle
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YES, it is dead. I would not pick up any thing that look like this if it was alive.
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I had to ask the folks at the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum in
Tucson, Arizona what it was and the answer is below.
The beetle is a hercules beetle, Dynastes granti. Your friend probably
found it at medium - high elevations in SE Arizona, probably near ash
trees. The grubs feed on decomposing wood, etc, while the adults like
tree sap. The individual in the photo is a male because of the horns.
Males fight by pushing with their horns. Contests are held on small
branches near the tops of trees. Winners push losers entirely off the twigs.