Beetle: stag beetle

The stag beetle’s “antlers”

Because of its size, Europe’s largest beetle is easily spotted even in the semi-darkness of the forest. It can fly large distances when looking for food or a mate and climb high up into the treetops to fight other males for them, using its large red-brown mandibles as weapons.

This beetle is so big that between May and August, it can even be seen in the dark of the forest, but before you see one you are almost certain to hear its loud buzzing drone. We are talking about the stag beetle, the largest beetle in Europe.

Audio guide

Intersting facts

What you can see at this point

The stag beetle’s “antlers”

Male stag beetles often have to fight for food, territory or a mate. Their battles are fierce and lengthy. Watching two stag beetles fight is like watching a wrestling match, except that instead of arms and legs they use their big red-brown mandibles, which are reminiscent of a stag’s antlers. These mandibles are not well suited for cutting, so the males rely on females, with their smaller and more dexterous jaws, to help them get to the tree sap under the bark.

Not afraid of heights

The stag beetle has three pairs of legs. The shorter front pair make it difficult for the beetle to walk in a straight line, while its powerful back legs make it a good climber and it can be found high up in treetops and on high branches. Great distances are no obstacle either. It covers these using its wings as it searches for food and a mate.

Three stages of development

The stag beetle spends most of its life as a larva, which can spend up to five years developing in the rotting wood of a dead or dying tree. The orange head on a maggot-like body already has powerful jaws, which the larva uses to drill its way through the rotten wood. In the next stage it pupates in the earth for three months until it finally emerges as an adult with a lifespan of one to two months.