European Stag Beetle

Stag Beetles are found in the south-east of England, but are scarce. In Britain, these beetles are a protected species.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Lucanus cervus
Family: 
Stag beetles
Family Latin name: 
LUCANIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

The European Stag Beetle is a fine example of the family of stag beetles in that the males have huge jaws, much larger than the female's. These jaws are used to attract females and to duel with rivals. The jaws of males are not really biting jaws - although the female of the species can deliver a sharp nip. These beetles are between 5 and 7.5 centimetres in length, and are the country's largest beetle. They are found in the south-east of England, but are scarce. In Britain, these beetles are a protected species. Although the larvae of these beetles can take up to six years to develop, the adults live for less than a single year, emerging in May and dying in August once they have mated. These beetles fly, buzzing forwards at an angle of 30 to 40 degrees, jaws up, tail down. It's a mesmerizing sight!

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
Stag Beetles are found in the south-east of England, but are scarce. In Britain, these beetles are a protected species.
Copulating Stag Beetles, imported into the cemetery in June 2024.

Details

Species family information

Stag beetles form a family of some 1,200 beetles. They share the notable characteristic of males having enlarged jaws - or mandibles - with which they wrestle with each other to win or retain female mates. In the historic Italian region of Lucania, people used stag beetles as amulets, which gave rise to the region's name being applied to the Latin stag beetle family's name - and to the European Stag Beetle itself. The cervus part of the European species' name comes from the Latin for a deer, hence the English name stag beetle.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!