A Huge Beetle With Pincers That Look Like Antlers: The European Stag Beetle

A giant beetle with impressive “antlers”: the male stag beetle

If you've found a huge beetle with antler-like pincers on its head, it can only have been a stag beetle (Lucanus cervus): the largest beetle in Europe.

Male stag beetle on moss

Despite its dangerous-looking “antlers” – which are actually its mandibles, or upper jaws – the European stag beetle is completely harmless to humans. However, it can defend itself, and if you try to pick it up, it can pinch your finger quite painfully (I speak from experience ;-)

Can administer quite a pinch with its powerful mandibles: the stag beetle

The stag beetle is not a pest, and you should consider yourself lucky if you see these beautiful insects, as they have become very rare in many places and are strictly protected in most countries. Only the males have “antlers” which they use to combat their rivals much like deer (hence the name); the female beetles do not have enlarged jaws and are usually much smaller.

Female stag beetle: unlike the males, they do not have “antlers"

However, the size of this beetle species generally varies greatly, depending both on the region as well as on the food conditions during and individual's larval stage. Stag beetles spend most of their lives – between three and a maximum of eight years – as larvae in dead wood (mainly oak, but also other trees), on which they feed.

The better the environmental conditions and the quality of the food, and the longer the larval stage lasts, the larger the adult beetle will be after pupation and the longer its “antlers” will be, with the largest males growing to almost 10 cm in length (the smallest, on the other hand, reach only about 3.5 cm). The life of an adult stag beetle lasts only a few weeks or months; the animals usually leave their pupae at the end of May at the earliest, then mate and die in late summer (the females live slightly longer than the males and die after laying their eggs).

Despite their impressive size, stag beetles are capable of flight; during their short adult life, they are mainly seen flying at dusk in June and July when they are looking for a mate or food.

Male stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) taking off

They mainly feed on the sap of trees, preferably oak but also other deciduous trees, and if available, the sugary liquids of rotting fruit are also a welcome source of energy. In my garden in Ticino (Switzerland), where all the photos shown here were taken, the stag beetles were attracted to the fig tree - or rather the overripe delicacies it offered.

Male stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) feeding on a rotten fig

Male stag beetle on a rotten fig

In case you're interested, you'll find a collection of my best nature photos here