Which beetle is the strongest relative to its body weight?

Which beetle is the strongest relative to its body weight? The dung beetle, specifically the horned dung beetle Onthophagus taurus, holds the famous relative-strength record.

In pulling tests, exceptionally strong males have been reported to move a load about 1,141 times their own body weight. That makes the beetle extraordinarily powerful for its size, although “strongest” depends on the task being measured. Pulling, lifting, carrying and gripping are different kinds of strength and should not be treated as identical records.

Male O. taurus use their strength in competition for tunnel entrances and mates. Their horned heads and powerful muscles help them push rivals out of underground tunnels beneath dung. Females excavate nesting burrows, while the species’ dung-based lifestyle supplies food for both adults and developing larvae.

The answer is often confused with rhinoceros or Hercules beetles, which are also renowned for impressive strength. Those beetles are sometimes associated with lifting or carrying claims, but the best-known controlled relative pulling record belongs to the horned dung beetle. Thus “dung beetle” is the quiz-friendly answer, with O. taurus as the precise species.