This is the largest grub I have ever seen and if anyone has any idea what it is I would love to know. It was found in baton rouge, Louisiana.


The purple spots are interesting, and something I have never noticed on a grub before.


Thanks,
Jeff

It's pretty big, so possibly Dynastes tityus. Strategus larvae can be pretty big as well, but I'm not sure how big LA species get.

It reminds me of the June beetle (Scarabaeoidea) grubs I find whenever I dig up and separate Hosta plants, here in the Appalachians (North and South.)
They make excellent bait for Smallmouth Bass and trout.

Looks a lot like the Sugarcane Grub, Tomarus subtropicus, we have in Florida.

Daniel

Aren't Tomarus under an inch long? The grub looks to be 6-7cm, hence my Dynastes guess. Not that Strategus is out of the question either.

T. subtropicus is around 2 inches long at third instar. Photos can be misleading when it comes to judging the size of the subject, however I believe you're right Owen, it's probably a Dynastes tityus.

I actually meant adult Tomarus under an inch. I realize the grubs can probably get 4cm or so. I've seen enough Cyclocephala grubs to know that Dynastinae grubs are almost twice the length of adults when stretched out.

I'm wondering how big the Cotinis larvae get since I've seen adults into the 33-34mm range flying through my yard.

Although Cotinis have been collected in the Gainesville area, I've never seen one. I've read the larvae is about 50mm long, the same size as T. subtropics.

You've peaked my interest...now I have to find an adult.

New grub challenge. I'm stumped by this one... about an inch long and was found under a log:

I'm with you on this one, Owen. I don't know.

It looks like a scarab grub and then again it doesn't. It's about to pupate I believe.

Did you take a photo of the raster?

No other pictures.

Our scarab 'types' are all big or small. Big ones are Cotinis, Polyphylla, Pleocoma (1" +). The small ones (less than 3/8") are Dichelonyx, Serica, Aphodius. Cremastochielus, Sinodendron, Platycerus, Platyceroides, Cyclocephala are the only mid/small sized 10-15mm ones.

I just don't think it's a scarab, though it's built like one.

I think that I figured this one out: Dascillus davidsoni

Here's an adult from my backyard today:

First grub is some sort of scarab. Probably a Strategus species or Dynastes tityus. The second one looks like something sort of predatory, wish I could help more.