It’s a stag beetle (which you now know) and you may only ever see this one in your lifetime, so enjoy it! They are magnificent…
PhotographingNature
Stag beetle. Consider yourself blessed, their numbers have crashed in recent decades.
Similar_Ear6545
Male stag beetle, I think.
TearPsychological452
Grass looks great!
ribonucleus
Fantastic find!
Chubutt
A very cool stag beetle, some people breed them for fun, check out r/beetles
abyssal-isopod86
It’s a male stag beetle.
Be glad it didn’t fly into the side of your head!
Yes, they fly.
They used to be so common, you had dodge them flying in the New Forest, but they are rare now sadly due to pesticide use and habitat destruction.
gemmanotwithaj
The thing my cat likes to wear as a moustache
Sacredfice
Lucky you. Stag beetles are really rare in the UK!
EatenbyCats
You’re so lucky to have seen this. Hopefully this means your garden has rotting wood or other suitable habitat for them.
Giles81
Stag Beetle larvae spend several years feeding on buried decaying wood. That’s why it’s important to preserve old tree stumps etc, as grubbing them out and stump grinding destroys their habitat.
There’s a smaller species called the Lesser Stag Beetle, which is more widespread and breeds in above-ground decaying wood.
SoggyWotsits
I haven’t seen one for so long. Last time I was about 8 years old and it pinched me when picked it up. Lesson learnt to leave nature alone!
theoriginalpetebog
Lucky bugger, I’d love to see one of these one day!
Any-Web-3347
Until a few years ago, I would regularly have to rescue them from drowning in water barrels. I took to floating a length of plastic pipe in anything like that, and would find them clinging on very often. I’m sure the same ones kept going back.
No-Attention7567
Stag beetle. We have lots of around the Colchester area.
Just_Eye2956
Looks like it’s a male stag beetle. Treasure it. Rare and getting rarer.
SnooOranges2077
I think that’s a stag beetle.
Wart_Time_L32
More importantly how do you still have green grass that looks so lush and healthy?
Rag5mx8
A lawn that needs mowing
Silent-Detail4419
***STAG BEETLE***!!!! You lucky, jammy ***BASTARD***!!! You need to log your sighting. Please send that photo, along with the location you spotted it to the PTES (People’s Trust for Endangered Species). I’ve linked to the form below.
It’s definitely a male, but I think he’s not fully grown because he doesn’t have the impressive antlers of a fully grown male Stag Beetle.
Log your sighting with the PTES [here](https://stagbeetles.ptes.org/take-part-in-the-great-stag-hunt/). The Stag Beetle (*Lucanus cerverus*) is our rarest insect and is classed by the IUCN as globally near threatened. The specific name (the second part of the binomial – ‘scientific’ – name is the Latin for ‘deer’).
[This is what a fully-grown male Stag Beetle looks like](https://www.uksafari.com/stagbeetles.htm). Despite looking slightly terrifying, male stag beetles are completely harmless, but the female might give you a bit of a nip.
You’ll need to tell the PTES:
🔴Where you saw it (town and county)
🟠The date you saw it
🟡The time you saw it
🟢And then you’ll need to log the location on a map
🔵Finally, they need to know what you saw (male, female, larva, or any combination of the three – that’s a male).
Then you can, if you wish, send them your photo. The Stag Beetle (more accurately known as the Greater Stag Beetle, to differentiate it from the Lesser Stag Beetle, which is in a different genus) is now largely restricted to the south and east of England, so any sightings outside of that area are especially important, because they’ll show that the GSB is expanding its range.
Stag Beetles lay their eggs on rotting wood and in places like the New Forest, which is a Stag Beetle stronghold, you’ll see piles of logs which have been erected to give Stag Beetles places to breed.
Do it now, before you forget!
Complex-Spinach4886
I remember seeing loads of these in my garden in the 1990s, now they’re so rare their name has disappeared from the common lexicon
GiftFun8567
100% stag beetle
Clairefun
Oooh! Lovely stag beetle ❤️
MrEoss
What’s going on? I saw one just a few days ago. I don’t see them regularly but then I don’t often go rooting about for them but I reckon if I did, I’d see one soon enough in the garden.
29 Comments
Stag beetle?
Looks like a perfectly normal stag beetle.
stag beetle
If you like, you can report the sighting [here](https://share.google/0GLUo6vFXHUGJNwbO) – they’re endangered and this trust is tracking sightings.
It’s a stag beetle (which you now know) and you may only ever see this one in your lifetime, so enjoy it! They are magnificent…
Stag beetle. Consider yourself blessed, their numbers have crashed in recent decades.
Male stag beetle, I think.
Grass looks great!
Fantastic find!
A very cool stag beetle, some people breed them for fun, check out r/beetles
It’s a male stag beetle.
Be glad it didn’t fly into the side of your head!
Yes, they fly.
They used to be so common, you had dodge them flying in the New Forest, but they are rare now sadly due to pesticide use and habitat destruction.
The thing my cat likes to wear as a moustache
Lucky you. Stag beetles are really rare in the UK!
You’re so lucky to have seen this. Hopefully this means your garden has rotting wood or other suitable habitat for them.
Stag Beetle larvae spend several years feeding on buried decaying wood. That’s why it’s important to preserve old tree stumps etc, as grubbing them out and stump grinding destroys their habitat.
There’s a smaller species called the Lesser Stag Beetle, which is more widespread and breeds in above-ground decaying wood.
I haven’t seen one for so long. Last time I was about 8 years old and it pinched me when picked it up. Lesson learnt to leave nature alone!
Lucky bugger, I’d love to see one of these one day!
Until a few years ago, I would regularly have to rescue them from drowning in water barrels. I took to floating a length of plastic pipe in anything like that, and would find them clinging on very often. I’m sure the same ones kept going back.
Stag beetle. We have lots of around the Colchester area.
Looks like it’s a male stag beetle. Treasure it. Rare and getting rarer.
I think that’s a stag beetle.
More importantly how do you still have green grass that looks so lush and healthy?
A lawn that needs mowing
***STAG BEETLE***!!!! You lucky, jammy ***BASTARD***!!! You need to log your sighting. Please send that photo, along with the location you spotted it to the PTES (People’s Trust for Endangered Species). I’ve linked to the form below.
It’s definitely a male, but I think he’s not fully grown because he doesn’t have the impressive antlers of a fully grown male Stag Beetle.
Log your sighting with the PTES [here](https://stagbeetles.ptes.org/take-part-in-the-great-stag-hunt/). The Stag Beetle (*Lucanus cerverus*) is our rarest insect and is classed by the IUCN as globally near threatened. The specific name (the second part of the binomial – ‘scientific’ – name is the Latin for ‘deer’).
[This is what a fully-grown male Stag Beetle looks like](https://www.uksafari.com/stagbeetles.htm). Despite looking slightly terrifying, male stag beetles are completely harmless, but the female might give you a bit of a nip.
You’ll need to tell the PTES:
🔴Where you saw it (town and county)
🟠The date you saw it
🟡The time you saw it
🟢And then you’ll need to log the location on a map
🔵Finally, they need to know what you saw (male, female, larva, or any combination of the three – that’s a male).
Then you can, if you wish, send them your photo. The Stag Beetle (more accurately known as the Greater Stag Beetle, to differentiate it from the Lesser Stag Beetle, which is in a different genus) is now largely restricted to the south and east of England, so any sightings outside of that area are especially important, because they’ll show that the GSB is expanding its range.
Stag Beetles lay their eggs on rotting wood and in places like the New Forest, which is a Stag Beetle stronghold, you’ll see piles of logs which have been erected to give Stag Beetles places to breed.
Do it now, before you forget!
I remember seeing loads of these in my garden in the 1990s, now they’re so rare their name has disappeared from the common lexicon
100% stag beetle
Oooh! Lovely stag beetle ❤️
What’s going on? I saw one just a few days ago. I don’t see them regularly but then I don’t often go rooting about for them but I reckon if I did, I’d see one soon enough in the garden.
A big jobby