Curious Beetle
Location: Cook County, Illinois
July 30, 2011 12:02 pm
The other day, I came across this beetle at work (donut shop, but it was in the lobby, between the entrance and the lavatory). Someone had already tried to step on it, but I scooped it up in a cup anyways, and set it in the bushes on the other side of the parking lot from the store. I took some pictures, and was just curious what this cute little critter might be.
From browsing your site, and the one you link to, I’m guessing it’s a bark gnawer of some kind. But I would like to know for certain.
Signature: Doctor McCrimmon
Female Reddish Brown Stag Beetle
Dear Doctor McCrimmon,
This is a female Reddish Brown Stag Beetle, Lucanus capreolus. The larva feed on rotting wood. Hopefully, your good deed spared her from other stompers.
2
¶ Posted 31 July 2011 § ‡ ° Stag beetle question
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Va
July 12, 2011 10:07 am
I found this stag beetle on my front porch in the morning laying on his back.
My question is-
Do you think he was dying?
Every time I tried to flip him right side up, he would flip himself onto his back and lay there slowly wiggling his legs.
I tried several times to help him out but he continues to flip onto his back.
Eventually I just moved him into the grass.
Signature: -Heather
Reddish Brown Stag Beetle
Dear Heather,
We don’t know what is causing this male Reddish Brown Stag Beetle to keep flopping onto his back, but it doesn’t sound like normal behavior. I would seem that something is amiss.
1
¶ Posted 12 July 2011 § ‡ ° Tagged: mysteries Is THIS a stag beetle?
Location: Plymouth, Michigan
July 11, 2011 8:40 am
This large beetle was seen just after dark on July 10, 2011. It was about 1 1/2” long and was purposefully marching across my suburban patio. My dogs were very interested but I think I got them away before they did any harm. Is this perhaps a female stag beetle? I remember seeing them a few times as a child (40 years ago) and I always thought they were very cool.
Signature: Holly
Female Stag Beetle
Hi Holly,
This is indeed a female Stag Beetle, however, we cannot say for certain if it is a Reddish Brown Stag Beetle or a Giant Stag Beetle. We would defer to the experts in the species identification, however, the genus is Lucanus.
2
¶ Posted 11 July 2011 § ‡ ° Reddish brown stag beetle?
Location: Northern IL, US
July 10, 2011 9:48 pm
I was wondering if you could verify that this bug is a female reddish brown stag beetle. We just recently had a terrible storm that destroyed several trees in my friends backyard. Shortly after, I found her(I really don’t think its a him considering those small pincers) I read somewhere that reddish brown stag beetles tend to be around rotting wood and we’ve got a lot of that thanks to the fallen trees. Despite those scary looking pincers she really is quite docile and i had no problem with her crawling on my arms. My friend wanted to light a fire cracker on top of her but I smacked him 
Teenage boys sure are stupid sometimes :/ anyways, thank you!
p.s. this picture was taken in early July
Signature: Brie
Female Stag Beetle
Hi Brie,
We agree that this is a female Stag Beetle, but we cannot say for certain that she is a Reddish Brown Stag Beetle, Lucanus capreolus, pictured here on BugGuide. She may also be a Giant Stag Beetle, Lucanus elphus, which is pictured on BugGuide as well. Thank you for rescuing her from being blown to smithereens.
2
¶ Posted 11 July 2011 § ‡ ° What is this beetle?
Location: Milwaukee, WI
July 10, 2011 5:54 pm
Please help me identify this little one!
Signature: Brian King
Reddish Brown Stag Beetle
Hi Brian,
Each year in July, sightings of various Stag Beetles are reported to our site. This is a male Reddish Brown Stag Beetle.
1
¶ Posted 11 July 2011 § ‡ ° what’s hidding behind the door?
Location: Decorah Iowa
July 8, 2011 4:48 pm
’Ello. Found this beetle outside the back door. I live in an apt that’s half underground so there are cement steps and a covered drain (he did not get in that way) out the back door. I have lived in northeast iowa for tweny years and haven’t seen this beetle before. this is the second unknown large beetle I’ve found in 3 days! Was able to identify the first one (a beautiful ”caterpillar hunter”), but can only find ones that kind of look like this one. The closest identificatin I could find was the Eger’s earth boring beetle, but I’m not sure this is correct due to the antennas (please excuse my lack of bug speech).
He is black and just over an inch long. I have included photos taken with my phone. I appreciate any help you can give and thank you for your time. 
Signature: Surprised in Iowa
Female Stag Beetle
Dear Surprised in Iowa,
Because of the large mandibles and clubbed antennae, we believe this is a female Stag Beetle. It looks very similar to Lucanus placidus, which we found on Bugguide and there are records of sightings from Iowa. The front legs are quite distinctive, and they match this image from BugGuide. We have contacted Eric Eaton to get his opinion.
Female Stag Beetle
1
¶ Posted 09 July 2011 § ‡ ° Rhino Beetle in Oregon?
Location: Ashland, Oregon, USA
July 8, 2011 12:45 am
My daughter found this beetle while we were camping in Southern Oregon (Ashland). The horn made me think of rhino beetles but it’s fairly small. Are there rhino beetles indigenous to Oregon? What species of insect is this?
Signature: Dr. Aaron Molen
Rugose Stag Beetle
Dear Dr. Aaron Molen,
BugGuide does not have any reports of Rhinoceros Beetles in the subfamily Dynastinae in Oregon, however, there are reports from California. They also include the disclaimer: “Range and date information may be incomplete, overinclusive, or just plain wrong.” This is actually a Rugose Stag Beetle, Sinodendron rugosum, and we identified it on BugGuide and the horn indicates he is a male.
1
¶ Posted 09 July 2011 § ‡ ° Stag Beetle- Alive
Location: Sanford, NC
July 7, 2011 6:04 pm
Hi. I saw the last 2 postings for Stag Beeltes ,and sadly they were not alive. Just wanted to let you know that my teen son rescued this one from a pool skimmer. We let him dry out & rest and he is as good as new. What a neat insect. we have never seen one before, but are big nature & insect fans.
Signature: KeriAnn
Giant Stag Beetle
Hi KeriAnn,
Thanks for sending your very sweet photo of a living Giant Stag Beetle as well as your thrilling rescue story. It just might have sent our editorial staff over the edge had we received another corpse photo.
We are glad to share. We all have a love for all bugs. My 7 year old, in the photo has a special love for all things creepy & crawly. Have a good day/
2
¶ Posted 07 July 2011 § ‡ ° 
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