A male Stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, found at Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire, in 1980.
At over 40mm long, the male Stag beetle, Lucanus cervus, is the largest beetle found in the UK, but it is only the males which possess the huge, antler-like mandibles which are used to deter rivals.
The female beetle lays eggs in decaying timber and the hatched larvae burrow into the wood where they remain for up to four years before moving into the soil to pupate. Stag beetles may be found in woods, parks and gardens where, although they have a preference for oak, they may occur anywhere there is a supply of suitable dead and other rotting wood – including large fence posts!
