Stag Beetles Uncovered: Understanding Their Behavior and Habitat

folder_openColeoptera, Insecta
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In this article, we talk about everything related to the Stage Beetle

There are only a few insects in this world that have jaws that are almost as big as their bodies. One of them is the stag beetle.

These insects have massive mandibles that look similar to the antlers of an adult stag (in proportion to their body size)

Stag beetles love to show off their big and strong mandibles to assert dominance and attract females.

 

 

Yes, they look sturdy and highly intimidating. But is there a need to be scared of these insects? The answer is no.

There are a lot of fascinating things that we don’t know about these insects, and this article will help uncover them. Time to put on your reading glasses.

What Are Stag Beetles?

Stag beetles are known for their long and strong jaws that resemble the antlers of a stag. If you compare, the male adult beetles have bigger jaws than the female beetles.

Mostly these beetles have a glossy black body with a pair of chestnut brown colored wings.

The males show an average growth of 1.37-2.95 inches in length, and the females usually grow from 1.18-1.96 inches.

You can often spot the males indulged in brawls using their mandibles to find mates. Females, on the other hand, are mostly seen near the ground, searching for suitable spots to lay eggs.

 

Stag Beetle

 

Stag Beetle Types

Stag beetle populations are widely scattered throughout the world. You will be surprised to know that there are around 1,200 stag beetle species worldwide. Mentioned below are some details about a few of them.

Giant Stag Beetle

The giant stag beetle is considered to be one of the largest beetles that live in dead wood. These beetles show an average body size of around 2.5 inches in length.

Despite their massive size and popularity, their ideal living habitats are still unknown. The giant stag beetles highly depend on dead wood for their survival.

Also, the giant stag beetle larvae are mainly found in wet logs.

 

stag beetle
Giant Stag Beetle

 

Cottonwood Stag Beetle

Cottonwood stag beetles, also known as Lucanus mazama, usually prefer to stay in areas with loose soil and high temperatures.

Similar to most stag beetles, they too have shiny black bodies. They generally grow from 1.02-1.14 inches in length.

A riparian area with plenty of old cottonwood trees is a suitable environment for these insects to live and grow.

 

stag beetle
Cottonwood Stag Beetle. Source: xpdaCC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Golden Stag Beetle

Unlike most of its relatives in the stag beetle family, the golden stag beetle is not glossy black.

These beetles have shiny bodies with a touch of golden hue and measure between 0.59 to 0.98 inches in length.

The adult beetles are mostly golden green, golden yellow, and dull brown in color. Some Golden female stag beetles can also be blue and blue-green.

Such beetles are native to Australia and can be abundantly found in different regions of Tasmania, Victoria, and South-East Australia.

 

stag beetle
Golden Stag Beetle

 

Rainbow Stag Beetle

Rainbow stag beetles (Phalacrognathus Muelleri) are native to the forest areas of Queensland, Australia.

Similar to the golden stag beetles, they, too, have colorful bodies that resemble the flashing colors of a rainbow.

Like most stag beetles, they have two huge mandibles which differ in size according to the gender of the insect.

The males have larger jaws compared to the females. Also, if you look closely, you will notice that the females have longitudinal marks on the thorax.

 

stag beetle
Rainbox Stag Beetle

 

Stag Beetle Vs. Rhino Beetle: How To Differentiate?

The rhino beetle is another insect that is known for its giant jaws. Similar to stag beetle weaponry, they use them to fight to win territories and mating rights.

Both these insects might look alike at first glance, but if you look closely, you will notice that the Rhino beetles have mandibles that jut forward from their head like a Rhino.

While the stag beetles horns are placed horizontally.

The Rhino beetles are also bigger and a little heavier than the stag beetles.

What Does A Stag Beetle Eat?

Adult stag beetles do not consume solid food; the females drink sweet juices obtained from decomposing fruits, tree saps, vegetables, plants, etc.

Males rely on the fat reserves built during the larval stage.

During this stage, the larvae actively consume dead and decaying matter like wood to store fats in the body, so they can survive well as adults.

 

Stag Beetle Grub

 

Where Do Stag Beetles Live?

These species of beetles mostly rely on dead and decaying wood to fulfill their diets; therefore, woodlands can be considered their natural habitat.

Apart from being near some log piles, they also like to be around traditional orchards, parks, and gardens (with dead wood around).

Also, they prefer to be in warmer regions where the larvae can grow rather than in shaded canopies of dense forests.

Life Cycle of A Stag Beetle

The female stag beetles can lay up to 24 eggs at once. It all starts when the males get attracted by the female pheromones, and often they indulge in fights to win mating rights.

The female searches for an underground spot near rotting wood to lay the eggs. These eggs are tiny and take around 30 days to hatch.

When the larvae emerge, they are white in color, but after a while, it starts developing a unique bright orange color.

As soon s it emerges, they transfer to the nearest deadwood pile, where they feed for almost six years before emerging as adults.

 

 

The primary purpose of continuously eating is to have enough fats stored in the body so they can use them as adults to survive.

Right before moving into the final stages of being a larva, they start building a cocoon around themselves.

This is usually made of chewed wood and mud. After completely covering itself in this shell, they start pupating.

From this stage, you can start distinguishing between the males and the females. The males will slightly pierce out their mandibles from the pupa.

It takes around 60 days for the pupation period to complete. By the summer, a fully developed adult stag beetle emerges from the ground and goes on to start this cycle again.

Mating Rituals of Stage Beetles

As mentioned in the above section, the males are attracted to the female pheromones. Once they locate the female, try to win her over by putting on a display of their antlers.

They open their jaws wide and walk slowly to show off their features and to impress the female.

If there is more than one male interested in the same female, the score is settled through a fight.

 

 

Here both parties wrestle with each other using the mandibles.

Whoever can turn the opponent on its back wins the fight and earns the mating right. The loser has to depart and try his luck somewhere else.

The brawls are not too dangerous, with injuries being unlikely. Also, the males often prefer to mate with multiple females.

How Long Do Stag Beetles Live?

It takes around 30 days for the larva to emerge from eggs. From there, they take almost six years to come out as adult stag beetles. The adults can only live for a few weeks and spend most of their time mating and reproducing.

Do Stag Beetles Bite?

Stag beetles are not aggressive and dangerous, but you can’t ignore the fact that these insects have huge and strong mandibles that can be used for biting.

Therefore you must not mishandle these insects as they will think that you are trying to attack them and bite back in defense.

Since they have strong chewing muscles, the bites can be quite painful.

 

 

Are They Poisonous/Venomous?

Stag beetles have a sturdy and intimidating appearance, but in reality, they are not harmful to humans.

Yes, they can deliver painful bites, but these bites are not venomous and won’t cause any fatal injury or illness. They will not attack if you don’t disturb them.

Are They Harmful to Humans and Pets?

Stag beetles are not harmful to humans if they are not constantly threatened and disturbed.

If you approach these insects recklessly, they will use their strong jaws to bite, which is very painful.

Can They Come Inside Homes?

Stag beetles larvae usually stay underground near dead and decaying wood.

There is very little chance of them entering your homes as they prefer to be around the food source that is dead and decaying matter.

 

 

What Are Stag Beetles Attracted To?

Stag beetles are attracted to warm regions with loose soil, where they can lay eggs.

They also like to be around places that have plenty of sources to get dead and decaying matter like rotting wood.

Sometimes adults are also attracted to lights at night.

How To Get Rid of Stag Beetles?

These beetles might sound fascinating but having them around your home and garden is a little too much.

To get rid of these insects, you must ensure that you remove all the foliage in your garden every day.

Make sure that you remove all dead and rotting pieces of wood from the garden, as they are prime locations for the stag beetles to live.

If you come across a few near your house, catch them using safety gloves, and drop them in soapy water to exterminate them.

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Interesting Facts About Stag Beetles

Apart from the things mentioned in the sections above, there are a few more notable things about stag beetles that are highly interesting. Here are a few of them:

  1. Stag beetles are also found in the UK, and the European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) is considered one of the largest beetles in the entire country. They can grow up to 2.95 inches in length. This is almost equal to the size of an adult human thumb.
  2. The size and strength of an adult stag beetle are determined by the amount of dead and rotting wood these insects consume as larvae. Therefore, the females need to lay eggs near spots with an abundance of food.
  3. The fights between the males to earn mating rights highly depend on the size of the mandibles. Whoever has larger jaws will most probably win the battle. If both opponents are evenly matched in terms of size, it can take several minutes or even hours for a brawl to end.
  4. In the UK, you will find these beetles in southeast England. They are common along the regions of Severn valley and the southwest coast. You will also spot them near the southern and central regions of Europe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Stag Beetle rare?

There are around 1,200 species of stag beetles scattered around the globe, so they are not rare in this sense.
These fascinating creatures are found in different regions of Australia, the UK, the US, and more.
They prefer to be around loose soil, and warm temperatures to they can easily lay eggs underground.

How do you identify a Stag Beetle?

Stag beetles can be easily identified by the two long mandibles that look like the antlers of a stag. Mostly they have black-colored bodies.
In some cases, they can be dull brown, metallic blue, golden green, golden yellow, and even multicolored like a rainbow.
The larvae have a distinct orange-colored body, and they live in decaying wooden logs

Is it safe to pick up stag beetle?

You should not pick up a stag beetle with bare hands. These insects have big mandibles and strong chewing muscles. Moreover, they can bite.
The bites can be quite painful. If you want to pick them up, it is wise to use safety gloves to stay safe from the bites.

Why am I finding stag beetles in my house?

At night adult stag beetles are attracted to warm surfaces and light sources. So if you find these insects in your house, they probably were chasing the lights during night time.
Also, since they are attracted to decaying wood, it is good to keep your surroundings clean to avoid them.

Wrap Up

Although stag beetles are found in large numbers worldwide, there is a lot that we don’t know about these insects.

These insects can live up to 7 years and spend most of their lives as larvae consuming dead wood. They are extremely fierce when it comes to mating.

The males often brawl to win mating rights. Despite all this, these insects are not at all harmful to humans and pets.

 

Reddish Brown Stag Beetle

 

Yes, they can deliver painful bites but only when they feel threatened. The stag beetles are not at all aggressive towards humans.

We hope the article gave you an overall idea of what these insects are. Thank you for taking the time to read the article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stag Beetle Firefly

 

 

Reddish Brown Stag Beetle

 

Authors

  • Bugman

    Bugman aka Daniel Marlos has been identifying bugs since 1999. whatsthatbug.com is his passion project and it has helped millions of readers identify the bug that has been bugging them for over two decades. You can reach out to him through our Contact Page.

    View all posts
  • Piyushi is a nature lover, blogger and traveler at heart. She lives in beautiful Canada with her family. Piyushi is an animal lover and loves to write about all creatures.

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Tags: Stag Beetles

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30 Comments. Leave new

  • MercuryCrest
    June 23, 2010 11:45 am

    BugGuide indicates that these are found in the East, but insectidentification.org shows that these are found in many of the Midwest states, too.

    Strangely, I’ve only seen two in my life. The one pictured above, and a larger Black Stag Beetle around 20 years ago in a similar location.

    Beautiful, aren’t they?

    Reply
  • The only stories I’ve ever heard about bugs coming out of drains, is when a tap that isn’t used for a long time is finally turned on, whatever was living in it before (usually a spider) is flushed out by the water. I recently had a situation similar to this one, except it was with a giant slug in the bathtub. I know it didn’t come out of the drain, and I’m pretty sure I would have seen it slowly making it’s way to the bathroom, but I didn’t. Bugs can be very sneaky and can crawl into homes through very small gaps that we wouldn’t normally notice. There’s also a theory that all living things are attracted to the energy of running water. I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but it sure would help explain why everyone’s always finding critters in the sink or tub!

    Reply
    • That is a very nice explanation Jessi. Thanks for commenting on this interesting occurrence.

      Reply
  • Update-
    An hour later I checked on him and he was indeed dead. He is sitting in my herb garden for the kids to take a look at.
    Thank you.

    Reply
  • I’ve seen the “back-flipping” a few times before, and most of the time it was because the bug was either sick or hurt. I’ve also seen it happen after a bug was suddenly moved from once space to another, but after a few minutes, they permanently flipped over on their legs and went on their merry way.

    Reply
  • Just this day here in central Indiana I saw a stag beetle and my friend said he had also seen them this week. I had to look on this site to identify the species (tonight), are these seasonal? Is there a hatch in progress?

    Reply
    • Stag Beetle sightings peak in July and this helps to ensure that mature individuals capable of mating will also be coeval, though stragglers may be early and late.

      Reply
  • I saw a similar one on my driveway that was almost all black. Oddly, I saw another one at an orthodontist’s office doing the same behavior. Can anybody identify him? It is near Toledo, Ohio (northern Ohio, less than 60 minutes from Detroit.)

    http://i.imgur.com/pBucD.jpg

    Reply
  • How to ride of them? Thay are in old tree stumps & near my flowers. Please help! Thay have babies to.

    Reply
  • three of these just hatched in from a stump in my garden today (Southampton, UK). pretty cool!

    Reply
  • Just a quick note to tell you your new posts have not been showing up on the front page of the blog since July 11th! That’s 25 1/2 pages of of blog going unread!

    Reply
    • Very curious. It seems fine on our end, so we are copying our webmaster to get his opinion. This is our most recent posting. If they are not showing, how were you able to comment?

      Reply
  • I enjoyed your response, but the pedant in me objected to the line “Did you attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” After all, insects don’t breath through their mouths. I understand that mouth-to-thorax resuscitation might seem a tad creepy, but for bugs the breath of life is sustained by the miracle of spiracle.

    Reply
    • You are absolutely correct, but our response was prompted by the querent’s subject line. Thanks for pointing out the scientific absurdity in our joke.

      Reply
  • Can this bug fly. We found in our pool. Is it poison?

    Reply
  • Hey.. I was out in my yard today and came across this bug.. he was on his back and struggling, so I helped him flip over and then moved him to a safer location (away from foot and paw traffic and nosy dogs). He seemed to be a bit wobbly..

    Then, a few hours later, I found him again, on his back. This time, I flipped him over and he held his head up and his pincers open.. but I got him moved to another ‘safe’ location.

    I got some pictures and thought I’d share. I wasn’t sure what it was until I found your site in a google search. Thanks!

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/madaise/sets/72157655005657430

    Reply
  • Hey.. I was out in my yard today and came across this bug.. he was on his back and struggling, so I helped him flip over and then moved him to a safer location (away from foot and paw traffic and nosy dogs). He seemed to be a bit wobbly..

    Then, a few hours later, I found him again, on his back. This time, I flipped him over and he held his head up and his pincers open.. but I got him moved to another ‘safe’ location.

    I got some pictures and thought I’d share. I wasn’t sure what it was until I found your site in a google search. Thanks!

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/madaise/sets/72157655005657430

    Reply
  • Found a stag beetle on my shoulder one night after sitting on the front porch. It was a male I am assuming, it had two pinchers. I thought it may have pinched my shoulder or it could have been the legs trying to hold on. this stag beetle was found in Piedmont, Alabama

    Reply
  • I was just driving home when I felt something on my leg I went down to swipe it off n it bit me it hurt and I started bleeding, I didn’t know were it went but next thing I knew it was on my arm and I didn’t even see it fly

    Reply
  • Nancy Bonkowski
    July 2, 2018 10:01 am

    I pulled one of these bad boys out of my pool skimmer. It was seemingly dead. Now it is back to life! Its huge.

    Reply
  • We found the Reddish Brown Stag Beetle in our backyard rock garden in Chatham, New Jersey. We got a really good look at him/it but didn’t have a cell phone or camera outside with us. It is definitely the same as your picture(s) and had definite curved horns.

    Reply
  • just found one 2 1/2 inches long looks right menacing will have to release him back into nature.

    Reply
  • Trinity Butcher
    July 5, 2020 7:13 pm

    I found one in my room this morning ( have no clue HOw he got in here) and he keeps flipping over, and like I would put him outside but…. I kinda feel like he’s gonna be dead in 30 secs if I do that…?

    Reply
  • Trinity Butcher
    July 5, 2020 7:13 pm

    I found one in my room this morning ( have no clue HOw he got in here) and he keeps flipping over, and like I would put him outside but…. I kinda feel like he’s gonna be dead in 30 secs if I do that…????

    Reply
  • Central minnesota,usa.
    My son’s friend was bitten by a stag beetle tonight.
    When my son tried to remove it from his arm, it hang on quite a bit. Luckily it let go and my son was able to catch it alive and throw it back outside.

    Reply
  • Central minnesota,usa.
    My son’s friend was bitten by a stag beetle tonight.
    When my son tried to remove it from his arm, it hang on quite a bit. Luckily it let go and my son was able to catch it alive and throw it back outside.

    Reply
  • paul reynolds
    July 8, 2021 4:02 am

    Just found one at my door in New Jersey pennsauken

    Reply

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