“Titus”
the dung beetle
Scientific
name: Oxysternum conspicillatum
Geographic location: Guyana, South America
Artist: Jessa Huebing-Reitinger
Medium: Oil on canvas 60” x 72” 2003
Performance venue: The Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO. USA
The specimen for Titus was collected in 1999 in Guyana, South
America, by Dr. Steven Ashe of Kansas University Entomology.
“Titus” has some interesting features, such as
his compound eye which can be seen above and below his face
shield. His face distinctly has the character of a rhinoceros,
right down to the leather texture on his exoskeleton. “Titus”
is also iridescent which means that his color will never fade.
The colors as seen on the specimen are an illusion, as in
reality he is a black. This illusion is created by light reflecting
off of his special molecularly structured exoskeleton, similar
to how a rainbow is made. When the light bends over his shape,
it changes from red to green depending on your viewpoint.
Titus was not a scheduled portrait; however Jessa received
a vision for him and squeezed him into the lineup. He took
4 weeks to complete and is 200 times his actual size. This
is Jessa’s favorite painting to date.
