Growing up to three and a half feet long, these beetles with dull red and black jagged markings and featuring large curved mandibles, are non flyers and look quite different to the Brown beetle to which they are only distantly related.
When cornered, they can turn and "Squirt" a foul smelling acidic substance up to 10 feet. Tests conclude that this attack form would have the same effect as the scent of a Terran skunk.
Having cracked the olfactory and tactile code the Gi-ants use for identifying each other, these beetles infest some Gi-ant nests feeding on the eggs, young and other food while being ignored by the ants. Horned beetle eggs are cared for by the Gi-ants as if their own. While further study is needed, it is presumed that Gi-ant nests infected with the Horned beetle would eventually die. If so they represent the first recorded indigenous predators higher up the food chain than the Gi-ants.
Frequency: Unknown
Rating: Dangerous if cornered or startled without special protective measures.
