Stag Beetles
The stag beetle is one of the most spectacular looking insects in Britain. As well as being one of the largest (it can grow larger than a matchbox in size) the stag beetle is also one of most charismatic beetles we have.
All males appear to have huge antlers, almost half the size again of their body. These appendages are actually over-sized mandibles, used in courtship displays and to wrestle other male beetles. They are not harmful to humans.
You are more likely to be nipped sharply by the female stag beetle. The females are a little smaller than the males and do not have the characteristic antlers. Stag beetles appear to be black all over but, in certain lights, they can be seen to have dark maroon or brown wing cases.
The stag beetle has a very long life cycle lasting at least four years and possibly up to seven. Once they have mated, the females lay small, round eggs below ground in rotting wood, particularly log piles, rotting tree stumps and old fence posts.
These larvae feed on the decaying wood around them for at least three years after which they will begin to pupate into adults. They build an ovoid-shaped cocoon in the soil, up to 20cm below ground, that can be as large as an orange and take up to three weeks to build.
Within it the larva will pupate and .nally metamorphose into an adult, emerging from their cocoon in the autumn and spend the winter and spring in the soil.
Around the middle of May the adults begin to emerge above ground, males a little earlier than the females. By the end of August, as summer fades, most of them will die. Very few survive the rigours of winter.
During their short adult lives the male stag beetles will spend their days sunning themselves in an attempt to gather strength for the evening's activities, .flying in search of a mate.
