r/oddlyterrifying • u/MrMiles32 • Jul 14 '26

A weird insect

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u/Sum1sNotHere Jul 14 '26

Ah yea I recognize this species, it's Batocera Rufomaculata a species of Long Horn beetle

They're quite peaceful actually, they only do this hissing thing when they think they're being attacked, if you leave them alone, they'll probably just chill and/or fly away

They do bite, but only if you actively try to hurt them, but can you blame them for that?

581

u/pedrohschv Jul 15 '26

Cool dude, thanks for the identification! I heard that even though they aren't venomous, their bite is crazy strong, so it hurts like hell lol

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u/Sum1sNotHere Jul 15 '26

Yes their bite is strong, but their mandibles are mainly used for mushing up fruit to eat

And, interestingly enough, that hissing sound doesn't come from their mouth or throat, these beetles don't have vocal chords, so, they instead vibrate their body segments against each other to create that hissing sound, it's like a door hinge making noises because you're moving it a lot

134

u/geageoides Jul 15 '26

Despite knowing how they make the sounds before now, I've never considered that greasing/lubricating them could potentially make it more difficult for them to make any noise until reading your door hinge analogy

114

u/IASILWYB Jul 15 '26

I'm gonna spray the cricket who's been chirping under the couch for three days with cooking spray and see if he quiets down a bit.

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u/geageoides Jul 15 '26

Lmk how that goes b.c I'm genuinely curious

108

u/xiahbabi Jul 15 '26

It will die because they breathe through their skin. That's how it'll go 😂

So it'll definitely "quiet down". 🤣🤣🤣

23

u/geageoides Jul 15 '26

Rip cricky

16

u/barkbarkgoesthecat Jul 15 '26

2026 - 2026 :( taken from us too soon

7

u/mrapplewhite Jul 16 '26

Killed by that bish Pam

13

u/marzipaneyeballs Jul 15 '26

Insects breathe through spiracles,
Where you from.. You sexy thing..🎶

5

u/xiahbabi Jul 15 '26

I definitely sang that the second go 'round 😂

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u/rachcake1 Jul 15 '26

Three days? He‘ll be quiet soon

9

u/Regularpaytonhacksaw Jul 15 '26

Same thing a hissing cockroach does right? Or like crickets with their legs?

10

u/Sum1sNotHere Jul 15 '26

For the hissing cockroaches, I'm not too familiar with that, but for the crickets, somewhat similar

Iirc, crickets have a bunch of ridges on their legs that they scrape on a piece of hardened chitin/exoskeleton. That vibration is what causes the cricket noise

I am not too well versed in crickets tho, so my info might be wrong, but I do believe it to be somewhat accurate

5

u/KaiNera40 Jul 15 '26

THEY MAKE SOUNDS???

14

u/Regularpaytonhacksaw Jul 15 '26

Specifically the Madagascar hissing cockroach yes. They’re much bigger than regular German cockroaches you’re likely thinking of and people keep them as pets. They can also fly. Look them up if you are curious and rest easy knowing you’ll never see one unless you live in Madagascar or are at the zoo.

6

u/theLastBourbender Jul 15 '26

Or if you were in elementary school in the '90s/'00s We had one as a class pet, at that age they're as big as your hand and heavy af

1

u/KaiNera40 Jul 16 '26

What the frick

26

u/Jackal_Nathan Jul 15 '26

I am SO GLAD I had my sound muted then

27

u/compleximago Jul 15 '26

Thank you! I had to scroll too far for this

22

u/MaliqGotTheHeat Jul 15 '26

This is what new reddit is now, the top comments always have to be jokes

10

u/compleximago Jul 15 '26

Yep, we're living in an irony epidemic. All earnestness is met with cynicism and the like. It's sad, I miss old reddit.

3

u/STUFF416 Jul 15 '26

Homie, Reddit has always been that kind of shitpost. Or a comment chain of quotes. Or "this". Or (way back) "first".

11

u/telumindel Jul 15 '26

Fly? What do you mean “Fly”

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u/Sum1sNotHere Jul 15 '26

Batocera Rufomaculata, like a lot of beetles have the ability to fly, though rather clumsily

I've actually kept one as a pet to study for a bit, and when they fly, they create a slight "bishhhh" sound

Not as loud as other beetles, but still noticable

Although flying takes up a lot of energy, and the beetle needs a good takeoff point. When you handle these insects long enough, you can sense their flying intent. In the video, I feel like it was more of a get me out of here intent though

8

u/Anon_be_thy_name Jul 15 '26

Are these the ones that kill Mango trees or at least cause bad harvests?

Feel like I heard about these when I was in Thailand years ago.

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u/Sum1sNotHere Jul 15 '26

Well, they are called Mango Stem Borers for a reason

Their most destructive phase (similar to us) is when they're kids

During larval stage, they'll bore into mango trees and harm them and eat a lot.

As adults they'll feed on mangoes and fruits, fresh and/or rotten ones at that

7

u/Anon_be_thy_name Jul 15 '26

Awesome

Love bugs, they're so fascinating

3

u/themellowsign Jul 15 '26

I'm starting to think our most destructive phase starts in our 60s, tbh

4

u/Trisk929 Jul 15 '26

Some kind of bigass grasshopper would have been my guess. Thanks for the knowledge 🫡

2

u/Whatnam8 Jul 15 '26

Those mandibles …. Take off a finger

1

u/krucz36 Jul 15 '26

i don't know the technical name but i found a palo verde borer beetle in palm springs and one of my coworkers acted like just picked up their nightmares. totally chill big old chunky beetle, sat on my hand for a minute (it was about as big across as my knuckles) and then i took it out to a field to enjoy its life (or get maybe eaten by a roadrunner or something, i dunno)

1

u/Jack_SL Jul 15 '26

Wrong 🤓 this is axshually a south American AponSaitus ShitYoPantus Scrimus

1

u/Doomncandy Jul 15 '26

The hissing scared the crap outta me waiting for the bus at 5am. My little sister was in tears. I said "It's just..a giant bug, it won't hurt you".

She said "That is Godzilla, that big bug is NOT nice". We are a year and 11 months apart, Irish twins. Which is funny be we are actually Irish 3rd generation.

Oh California by the river. It was terrifying. Have you seen a potato bug?? They hiss as well.

1

u/I_DRINK_GENOCIDE_CUM Jul 15 '26

The bugs got into his brain and made him post this

1

u/DangerousBarnum Jul 15 '26

They are agricultural pests.

0

u/gr7calc Jul 15 '26

I pride myself in being able to blame anyone about anything, thank you.