pet stag beetle
I am a woodworking teacher at a middle school. This stag beetle has been on my garage wall for almost a week. As far as I can tell, he has moved only about 3 feet in either direction. What do you make of this?? I’ve gotten kind of used to him and I hope he is ok just hanging out on the brick wall.
Juanita Daniell
Woodworking and Technology
Hi Juanita,
It is so nice to know that woodworking is alive and well in middle school education in North Carolina. We really don’t have a theory on why this Giant Stag Beetle with “trophey antlers” has such limited mobility. He sure is a gorgeous specimen.
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Posted 15 June 2007
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big black beetle bug ID
Hi,
On June 6th in the middle of the night, near Cookeville, TN, I found this beetle type bug outside a restaurant window. It was at least 2 inches long and looks to have big pinchers and a bit of a concave head (like a horns kinda), but I haven’t been able to locate it anywhere online so far… Any idea what it is? Thanks in advance!
Christi Tipton
Hi Christi,
We saw your photo two days ago, but couldn’t post it as we were very late. Then we couldn’t locate it among all the new letters. Thankfully, we found it again. This is a gorgeous example of a male Giant Stag Beetle, Lucanus elaphus. They are commonly called Stag Beetles due to the resemblance of the mandibles to the antlers of a stag.
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Posted 10 June 2007
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Any idea how we can find out what this is?
Hope you can help’ THANKYOU There were a few of them in the garden on Friday evening after dark – scarily big about 8 cm long and 3 to 4 cm wide. Big reddish clas on the front…….. They have wings and fly in like bombers, land on the lilac tree and then leave again. We had a few last year but didn’t realize just how nasty they were as we never got up close…..
Angela
Any views expressed in this message are those of the sender.
Hi Angela,
We couldn’t help but to be amused at your company’s disclaimer. Nasty appearance is definitely the view of the sender and not our view. This magnificent beetle is a male Reddish Brown Stag Beetle, Lucanus capreolus. If you have frequent sitings over a period of years, there must be a good supply of rotting logs and trees nearby to provide a food source for the larvae. There are probably many collectors worldwide who are envious at your population of desireable beetles, both for collections and to raise in captivity.
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Posted 04 June 2007
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beetle found in Hungary
Hello,
Do hope you can help us, we found this huge beetle on the wall of our in house in western Hungary. All dark in colour, and very aggresive. Approx. 3.5 inches in length and quite heavy. Attached is a photo. We have many hardwood trees and dense forestation almost everywhere in this area. Look forward to hearing from you, many thanks,
Pam Blackhall
Hi Pam,
Though fierce looking, the European Stag Beetle, Lucanus cervus, is quite harmless. There is a Biodiversity Plan in Sussex posted online that states: “Here in Great Britain, as early as 1941 it was realised that this enigmatic insect held a restricted and discontinuous range, and explanations were being sought. Since that time it has been consistently been listed as a national rarity, although its status as a rarity has been questioned recently. The stag beetle’s distribution in the UK is concentrated in the south-east.” The plan also indicates: “L. cervus is widespread on the continent, and in most countries this insect is protected by statute. However, the beetle is under no immediate threat on the European mainland, although the stag beetle has almost disappeared from a few northern states.”
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Posted 16 May 2007
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whats that bug, and bug/love
found on my front porch wall, after midnight
This is the first photo we have ever received of Stag Beetles mating. This is the Reddish Brown Stag Beetle, Lucanus carpreolus.
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Posted 24 July 2006
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Tagged: bug love
Beetle
Woke up one morning and went out to get the paper, only to find this sucker crawling on my front porch. Fearing for my dog’s life 
, I made a snap decision and swatted it. Took these pictures when I got home. It’s a pretty specimen, and I’m dying to know what it is. Can you help?
-j
Hello J.,
We hope “When in doubt, Kill” is not a motto you live by. In the interest of education, we feel compelled to lecture you on this textbook Unnecessary Carnage. The Elephant Stag Beetle is an elegant insect and not at all harmful despite its fierce appearance. Your photo has saddened us.
Awesome website…
Hi there!
I am so glad I found your website!! A year ago, I found a creepy ugly bug pinching my 6 month old daughter. Tonight, my same daughter (now 21 months, the youngest of 3 girls) was sitting on the potty when the same kind of bug crawled across our bathroom floor. I searched countless websites trying to identify the creature…including Terminex, Orkin, several universities’ entomology sites, etc. None of the sites even came close to the bug we found….until I came across yours. Our nasty little critter is the Ground Beetle. He (she?) is identical to the ones you have listed on your site. Thank you for having such a thorough and interesting site. I’m going to save you in my favorites just incase we need to identify any more little buggers!! Thanks again!
Terra J. Ward
Hi Terra,
We once again turned to Eric Eaton to clarify matters for us. Here is what he had to say: “Wow! Actually, this is a male stag beetle in the genus Ceruchus, assuming it is from North America. Right family for certain. I’d also like to see this posted to BugGuide.net, as right now we are getting postings of some of the other smaller Lucanidae, but not this genus. Neat.
Eric”
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Posted 11 May 2005
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new pics
you identified this beetle for me last year and posted pics i’d sent you (beetles 2004). thought i’d send these close ups of the same beetle.
enjoy!
Alan
Thanks Alan,
Have you kept this beautiful male Stag Beetle as a pet for the past six months, or are the photos from last year?
did NOT keep the stag beetle…
…as a pet! i wanted him to live life as it should be – free. i took about a dozen pics, though. i thought you’d like a glamour shot of, “volks – the stag beetle.”
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Posted 23 January 2005
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Two More Puzzling Specimens
Dear Mr. Marlos?
Thank you very much for identifying my previous mystery insect: the Trichiotinous bee-scarab. It was one of several insects which I have yet to ID. If you and your colleagues would be so kind as to have a crack at naming another two specimens of mine, I would be most pleased. The first, found near my home on Vancouver Island is likely a dung beetle but of an unknown genus (to me). The second, from my region as well, has proven to be even more challenging to ID. I am not even certain of it’s family and I hesitate to call it a scarab even though it exhibits several anatomical features which resemble those of such a beetle. (See attached photos for both.) On a final note, might I request the urls of the best sites in your opinion that may aid me in my quests for further insect identification? This may save me from troubling you with more ID requests in the future. Thanks again,
Sandy.
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| Rugose Stag Beetle |
Bolboceras obesas |
Dear Sandy,
We always love turning to a real beetle expert, Eric Eaton, with difficult identifications. Here is what he has to say: “Well, as luck would have it, I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and both these species are familiar to me. Both are males. Females do not have horns. The top [first] image in your e-mail to me is of a rugose stag beetle, Sinodendron rugosum. They are usually found in rotting logs. The second image is of an earth-boring scarab (family Geotrupidae). The species is Bolboceras obesus. Females dig burrows terminating in cells which they provision with fine humus, which serves as food for their offspring (grubs). Neat insects. I’ve never seen one alive, but they are supposedly common. Thank you for sharing.”
Regarding our favorite websites, we recommend Angel Fire and for caterpillars, we like Caterpillars of the Eastern Forests.
playground bugs [part 2]
Dear BUGMAN,
Thank you for writing back to us! WE LOVE YOUR SITE!!!!!
We are sending two medium sized photos of our Caddisfly [we thought the other photo we sent might be too small to be seen on the site]. We hope they help others! We also included our favorite stag beetle photo and praying mantis photo [it stayed on the wall next to our classroom door for days! We think it was listening in!] Thank you again for your help!
Always looking for bugs, Fours and fives in PA
Dear Fours and Fives in PA,
Thank you for the additonal photos. We are posting them immediately. Your Stag Beetle is Pseudoleucanus capreolus, a male.
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Posted 01 November 2004
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Ed. Note: Mike Zellers, former Homebody of the Month, just sent in this photo of a Stag Beetle. We love the interesting “bug’s eye view” perspective.
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Posted 20 September 2004
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A few for your collection!
Hi there Bug People!
I like to photograph only the most taken for granted of things in the world…lowly mushrooms and fungus, insects, small rodents, amphibians, etc… I have included a few ( a very small sampling ) of my ‘insect world’ favorites for 2004. Hope you enjoy them! (Personally, I love the Imperial Moth that befriended my hand…the Stag is second place) All of these photos are from the location described below.
Kindest Regards,
Scott Pierson
Actual Location Data: (of all insect photos attached) Earleville, MD – in a small, private community named ‘Hazelmoor’.
Latitude: 39.4401 Longitude: -76.0247
Time is always (approx) between the hours of 20:30 to 00:00 hrs, EDT
| Male Stag Beetle |
Grapevine Beetle |
My Goodness, Scott,
I admire the structuralist tendencies you have applied to your insect photographs. We are posting your Stag Beetle, Pseudolucanus capreolus male, and your Grapevine Beetle, Pelidnota punctata, on our Beetles 2004 Page.
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