Stag beetle

The Stag Beetle, or Lucanus Cervus to be precise, is Britain's largest ground living beetle and can reach 8cm in length. The 'antlers' found on the male resemble those of a stag deer, hence their name. Stag beetles are an endangered species in Northern Europe, and indeed the world, and are listed as a Nationally Scarce Priority Species.

However, we can all do our bit to encourage them in our gardens and allotments. Females lay their eggs near rotting wood and the larvae live in the rotting wood of deciduous trees, often roots and stumps or even old fence posts, so we could all leave a few choice items around to help them. Logs or a woodpile in a corner provides a suitable habitat. Viable habitats have been reduced in recent decades by removal of deadwood in parks and gardens, extensive building and reduction of woodland areas.

The larvae take up to 5-7 years to develop into mature adults. The adult beetle emerges from mid May to late July and can often be seen flying on warm summer nights. The male appears earlier in its search for a female but they are actually quite short lived and usually die after mating. However they have been known to survive longer, overwintering in compost heaps and the like. We can help by keeping pets indoors when beetles are flying at dusk, by covering water butts or by rescuing any that might fall in as they apparently often revive. We can also be wary of possible predators such as cats and magpies.

A simple stag beetle home can be made with an old bucket. Drill big holes into the bucket and fill it with lengths of tree stump,wood chippings, soil and compost. The bucket can then be buried in the ground somewhere quiet.

Interesting fact:

According to the RHS, researchers have found that ginger can help in the study of stag beetle distribution. Apparently they are attracted to it and so (harmless) traps baited with it can be a useful way of finding if they are living in your garden.

Apparently Cambridgeshire is on the border of their main habitation areas. The People's Trust for Endangered Species is keen to gather data of sightings. They even encourage us to carefully send them examples of dead ones we find to help their research with details of where and when they were found. For more details of their Great Stag Hunt go to www.ptes.org.

Many local groups of the Wildlife Trust even offer stag beetle adoption certificates for £10 which come with a photograph of a stag beetle, car sticker and fact sheet! See http://www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk for more information.