The adult female rhino beetle deposits her eggs in the mid-to-late summer, and the best spot for the eggs is on a fallen tree. The rotting log provides a good place for the beetle larva to physically attach to while they develop.
rhino by sgodt chumbucket, (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The larva also feeds on the rotting wood, so depositing the eggs there ensures that the babies have a waiting source of food as soon as they emerge from the eggs. The eggs can be laid inside cracks and crevices, but preferably near organic matter that the baby beetles can use for food.
Each female rhino beetle typically only lives through one breeding season and then dies soon after laying her eggs. This is not true of the male rhinos who can live 2 to 3 years. Each female lays about 50 or so fertilized eggs during mating season.
The egg stage is the shortest lived stage of the rhinoceros beetle life cycle and only lasts a few weeks. The young beetle larva soon emerges from the egg and begins feeding and growing rapidly, before entering the pupa stage for a long sleep.
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