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Sunday, July 19, 2015

Don't Bother the Stag Beetles

Giant Stag Beetle, Sally Kneidel
A rare treat -- a fabulous Giant Stag Beetle (Lucanus elaphus). My fingertips for scale. Incredible!!! Saw this one at Little Sugar Creek Greenway last week. The huge jaws are only on males, they fight for females just like male elk, deer, and moose. Check out this video of 2 males fighting (a different but similar species):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r34FSI2HKPY

Source: http://veggierevolution.blogspot.ca/2015/07/what-fun-find-giant-stag-beetle.html


Stag beetle fight



Published on Sep 26, 2012
The males fly out in search of a female, when they find a female, there may already be a male around so the males fight, - using their jaws to to wrestle each other for favoured mating sites. Fights may also be over food, such as tree sap and decaying fruits.

Stag beetle is Europes largest insect. In many countries they are now thought to be very rare or even extinct.

You can help Stag beetle by leaving old tree stumps and deadwood alone. Or by making a log pile.
Female stags lay their eggs in rotting log piles and the roots of various rotten trees, including oak, apple, ash cherry and many others. Leave fallen trees in large pieces in contact with the soil so that the wood remains moist and is able to rot. Don't remove tree stumps if you are cutting down a dead, unsafe tree. And please don't burn the dead wood. 

The more decayning wood there is, the more places there are for the female to lay here eggs. You can help this amazing insect, you can be apart of making sure that the stag beetles has a chance in our future.

Stag beetle, Ekoxe, hjortebille, Hirschkäfer, hirvesokk beetle, lucane, 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r34FSI2HKPY

Leopard
 Sally Kneidel, PhD, a biologist, travel writer and trip planner from the United States who toured Welverdiend in 2007 and 2009.  She is co-writer of both of these blogs

 http://veggierevolution.blogspot.ca/2015/07/what-fun-find-giant-stag-beetle.html







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