Stag Beetle Lucanus cervus

Many thanks to Martin Starnes for the photos of male and female Stag Beetles on this page. The fearsome "antlers" or "pinchers" are for fighting other male Stag Beetles and are unlikely to harm a person.

The Latin name "cervus" means deer, referring to the antlers. Males are some 35-75mm long.

Females are some 30-50mm. The female Stag Beetle (above) does not have the horns. She looks very like the smaller female Lesser Stag Beetle, but is shinier rather than matt. In addition to the serious icepicks on her feet, she has spines on her "forearms", unlike his slim arms, as the females need to dig burrows for the eggs.

Prevalent through much of Europe (where it is the largest terrestrial insect), the Stag Beetle is now nationally scarce in the UK, partly as rotting trees and wood are "tidied up" (cleared), leaving less habitat.