Rhino beetles can indeed fly, but not very well. They are just too big and heavy to be able to stay aloft for very long. The size also makes it difficult for them to have much dexterity in flight and makes them clumsy when flying.
Rhinoceros beetles do have two pairs of wings. There is one thin fleshy pair of wings underneath the thicker and dark-colored set of wings which are the ones they actually use for flying.
Although rhinos cannot fly very well or very far with their wings, they also use them for an interesting type of defense mechanism. When they are threatened, some species of rhino beetle emit a loud hissing sound by rubbing their wings against their thorax, or body.
It would appear to an observer that the sounds are actually being created vocally, but the insects are actually using their wings for this unique purpose in order to scare away would-be predators.
Because of the difficulty flying, rhino beetles usually do most of their traveling on the ground rather than in the air.
Photo: Rhino Beetle showing its wings as in flight from rear by Robin Hutton (CC BY 2.0)
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