The 'Helicopter Bug' Is Among World's Largest Beetles - But Would You Dare Pick It Up?

#1 The incredible creature has long pointy horns and makes a noise like a small helicopter when it opens its wings

Meet the 'helicopter bug' - one of the world's largest beetles that looks and sounds like a miniature flying machine.

The incredible creature is one of the most famous and largest of the rhinoceros beetles and is also known as the Hercules beetle - or the Dynastes Hercules.

It can grow up to a whopping 17 cm in length, which is about three times the height of a golf tee.

There have been reports in the past that the Hercules beetle is capable of being able to carry up to 850 times its body mass on its back - but this urban legend has never been properly confirmed by scientists.

#2 The huge helicopter bug can measure up to a whopping 17cm

Female Hercules beetles are often longer in length than a male - but do not possess horns.

#3 The bug sounds like a miniature helicopter

The creature is often found throughout tropical jungles and rainforests of Central and South America and spends the majority of its time foraging on forest floors.

#4 Its diet is predominantly made up of decaying plant matter

#5