Joys of Country Living- Part I of 4

Male- dorsal view- click to enlarge

I was standing in my stocking feet on a throw rug in the Bull Mill's kitchen fixing breakfast when the first morning adventure began.  I lifted my foot and felt a pull on the sock and heard a velcro-like sound.  On closer inspection, there was a creature clinging to the toe of my sock and the rug at the same time.

My new friend was a male Reddish-brown Stag Beetle (Lucanus capreolus).  The prominent sickle shaped mandibles are used by males to fight for the females' favors.  Females have small mandibles which are hard to see.  The males also have antler-like antennae that are the source of the name capreolus, a Latin word translated "roe deer".

Male- ventral view

When I picked it up or moved it around, it raised its head and thorax in an aggressive pose.  They are also known as "pinching beetle" and their pincers are said to produce only a "little nip", a hypothesis I didn't test. 

The adult beetle is nocturnal and feeds on tree sap.   The larva feeds on the inner wood of old trees and stumps, living for 2 years before pupating in the soil.

As I was writing this, he appeared to be sleeping or dead in his box, but once I put him on a cutting board he woke up, possibly sensing what a "cutting board" is used for.  You can see his response to the touch of a pencil.   What he lacks in size, he makes up in attitude as you can see in the video below.

 

No beetles were harmed in making this blog- he is back in nature, minus my sock.

More pictures at beetleforum.net and a fighting pose is at this link.