Reply to Barbara: It often says in rather dry turgid monographs that an insect might feed on "decaying organic matter", because when things really rot down there is not much difference between dead wood, compost, manure, carrion and dung. Any many insects can be found in any or all of these substrates. Stag beetles, like other insects breeding in rotten wood, are there because they can survive on the low nutrients in the decaying timber where other species can't. But maybe they have found an alternative niche in your friend's compost bin. I've often wondered whether the touted stag beetle bins (bottomless wooden crates half embedded in the soil and filled with wood chippings) actually work. But if they like the compost in Bournemouth...who knows. Thanks for the information.
