Stag Beetles (1 Viewer)

[trishhickson]

Hi, Last night, after watching Springwatch, I went into the garden and was thrilled to see three Stag Beetles. I havn't seen any for years. they smalllish ones and two were locked together face to face, could they have been fighting over the female? It was fascinating to see them fly, although i was getting ready to duck! We have several woodpiles in the garden, so i'm hoping they might have bred there. Is it unusual to see three? I know they are fairly rare but how rare are they? Hope there are some experts out there! Trish.

 

[Tranquility Base]

Hi Trish!
I've always loved Stag Beetles! Used to keep them as pets when I was a kid!
What sort were yours? Lessers, with small black nippers or the real thing with deep cherry red antlers?
The mails definitely do fight over the females: fascinating to watch! Strange thing: both species are still described as 'locally common' in many wildlife books, but it seems to me they have been in decline for thirty years. They need large, old oak trees for the larvae to inhabit. Many books say the adults only live a few months, but I once kept a male for three years before releasing him! I used to feed them on sugar solution: when you dipped them forward into a little puddle, their furry 'tongues' would lap it up like a cat!
Great to hear from someone who shares my enthusiasm for these wonderful insects!

 

[trishhickson]

Thanks for your reply, after studying my wildlife books, i've decided they must have been Lesser Stag Beetles, which are still uncommon but not as rare as the big oes, according to my books. It did say they only live a month, which seems very sad. We are lucky enough to have an old Oak tree in our garden, one of our neighbours describes it as "a monster"!!!, because it shades his garden. Tough!! it was there when he moved in!

 

[Phil Carter]

Not sure the larvae do need old oak trees,I thought they needed rotting logs to live in.They may prefer oaks but we get Stag Beetles in the garden and there isn't an oak in sight.Apparently,there is currently some research into whether there may be two species of Stag beetles in this country as some populations have much smaller "antlers".

Phil

 

[Tranquility Base]

Not sure the larvae do need old oak trees,I thought they needed rotting logs to live in.They may prefer oaks but we get Stag Beetles in the garden and there isn't an oak in sight.Apparently,there is currently some research into whether there may be two species of Stag beetles in this country as some populations have much smaller "antlers".

Phil

As I said above: there ARE two species: Lesser and Greater. I used to keep both sorts as pets. And as I ALSO said above, I used to keep them alive for months on sugar water! Not sure where this 'two month' myth comes from!
And in the same way that Orioles seem to prefer Poplars, but will nest in fruit orchards, so SBs seem to prefer Oak, but will lay their eggs in other rotten timber. Here are pics of a lesser and a greater for comparison!

 

[trishhickson]

Hi Clouseau, those are great pictures. They were definitely Lesser. They were great to see though, and still quite rare I believe.

 

[Phil Carter]

As I said above: there ARE two species: Lesser and Greater. I used to keep both sorts as pets. And as I ALSO said above, I used to keep them alive for months on sugar water! Not sure where this 'two month' myth comes from!
And in the same way that Orioles seem to prefer Poplars, but will nest in fruit orchards, so SBs seem to prefer Oak, but will lay their eggs in other rotten timber. Here are pics of a lesser and a greater for comparison!

What I meant to say is there may be two species of "Greater" Stag Beetle.This is what I've been told by the local beetle recorder.

Phil

 

[Tranquility Base]

What I meant to say is there may be two species of "Greater" Stag Beetle.This is what I've been told by the local beetle recorder.

Phil

Really????????? That's pretty exciting!
Do you know the geographical distribution?

 

[Phil Carter]

Really????????? That's pretty exciting!
Do you know the geographical distribution?

No,all I've been told is that someone,somewhere is DNA testing various populations based on antler size.
As a side issue,are there actually many Stag Beetles about this year?I've seen one early(May27th)female and thats it!We usually have 3-4 every evening in the garden this time of year.Hopefully,it's just down to the crap weather and nothing else.

Phil