Distribution: Fourteen species are indigenous to the West Indies, five species occur in the United States, nine species in Mexico, five species in Central America, and nine species are found in South America reaching central Argentina.

Composition: The genus Strategus contains 31 extant species (Ratcliffe 1976).

Diagnosis: Strategus species may be distinguished from species in other genera of Oryctini by the following combination of characters: mandibles exposed with apex bidentate and with a prominent basal lobe, pronotum usually foveate and at least tuberculate subapically, protibia quadridentate, and apex of metatibia with three teeth. Ratcliffe (1976) provided a complete revision of the genus, and Endrödi (1976b, 1985a) gave a synopsis.

Biological notes: Life history information for most Strategus species is lacking. Adults are nocturnal and attracted to lights. A few species have, historically, been minor pests of coconut and oil palms, especially in areas of new cultivation that had recently replaced natural forest habitat.

Larvae: The larvae live in the wood of rotting trees or possibly in concentrations of rich organic debris in the soil. Strategus aloeus (L.) is nearly ubiquitous in Central America below 1,500 m, and its immature stages and biology are fairly well known.

Literature cited:
Endrödi, S. 1976b. Monographie der Dynastinae 5. Tribus: Oryctini (die Arten von Amerika) (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae). Folia Entomologica Hungarica (series nova) 29: 9-174.

Endrödi, S. 1985a. The Dynastinae of the World. Dr. W. Junk Publisher, Dordrecht. 800 pp., 46 plates.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 1976. A revision of the genus Strategus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 10: 93-204.