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Stag beetles
Just over a week ago I was outside one evening singing 'Happy Birthday' to my mum down the phone. Half way through I was interrupted by a huge male stag beetle flying low over the garden...
20 messages
Gardeners' World Web User
04/06/2009 at 13:24
I LOVE LOVE LOVE stag beetles! Do they come in two sizes? I sometimes see small ones -- are they the younger generation?
Gardeners' World Web User
04/06/2009 at 17:02
every year my sister has loads of the giant buggers in her garden,not so good for the dogs though as they hang onto the fur on the dogs,and when the dogs come running into the house,the beetles drop off,and crawl on the floor,my sister really really hates them.where do they all come from...she has rung the local council to a bug man to get rid of them,but they dont do that.years ago[many years ago] when i was at school if you ever saw a stag beetle you had to inform the council...on average my sister has about 10/15 in here garden.they are only there for a few day,we dont know where they go.my sister lives in a very very old house,is that the reason why there is so many?
Gardeners' World Web User
04/06/2009 at 21:35
Found a beautiful but dead male stag beetle on our drive this morning - so sad. These gorgeous creatures are protected species I think and should not be considered a pest as they have a hard time finding suitable undisturbed breeding places.
Gardeners' World Web User
05/06/2009 at 07:04
Reply to Frieda I think you may be labouring under a misapprehension. Just as young butterflies are caterpillars, young stag beetles are grubs (or maggots or larvae depending on our vernacular choice). They do vary in size tremendously. The antlered 'stag' males are usually much bigger than the females. Then there is the lesser stag beetle, a different species, Dorcus parallelipipedus. Have a look at an earlier blog http://blog.gardenersworld.com/2008/06/25/rj-stag-beetle-25062008/ where there is a picture of female stag and lesser.
Gardeners' World Web User
05/06/2009 at 07:11
Reply to Sarahs Pond Life What luck to have 10 to 15 stag beetles in the garden each year. What a shame they are unwelcome. They are completely harmless unless you deliberately (and rather stupidly) thrust your finger into the male's jaws. In which case it will bite. In the spirit of scientific investigation I did just this a few years ago and ended up with blood all over my field note book. They are probably breeding in subterranean root systems and old stumps long since forgotten, buried in the soil and with no sign on the surface. The adults only live a few days or weeks. During this time they must find mates and the females must find a suitable place to lay eggs. They fall victim to birds, foxes, dogs, cats, cars and, sadly, pedestrians, treading them underfoot because they do not appreciate what gentle giant beasts they are.
Gardeners' World Web User
05/06/2009 at 11:07
We have a pair of pheasants living in our garden. They are wonderful to watch, but they are eating my begonias! I wondered whether to coat the begonias with something not very nice, like vinegar, or hairspray before I plant them out. Would this work?
Gardeners' World Web User
05/06/2009 at 13:09
I have a small garden (whistable) and some chickens and have had stags visit yearly, these huge and quite scary things whizz past,they almost look like young bats (sorry can't spell pipenstail) still now i have leant a bit more i am not so scared! in fact have taken some amazing pics of them. I don't like them getting into the house which is where they seem to be making for sometimes. hope the chickens are wise and leave them be.
Gardeners' World Web User
11/06/2009 at 21:21
I saw the most gorgeous beetle on my way to the allotment this morning. It looked like a moving foil sweet wrapper - metallic shades of green and gold, scarab-shaped and very large (about an inch long). Wish I'd had the camers with me. Can you tell me what it was, please? Never seen one before.
Gardeners' World Web User
16/06/2009 at 13:39
Reply to Grannyanne Sounds like it might be a rose chafer, Cetonia aurata. Try this link to confirm your identification.
Gardeners' World Web User
19/06/2009 at 21:19
My backyard in MN, USA is FULL of Stag Beetles, and I want them gone! Come and get them...
Gardeners' World Web User
21/06/2009 at 22:07
Got home (West Berkshire) just before dusk tonight to see dozens of stag beetles flying and crawling around on the ground. Some of the males were clearly in fighting mode and were being very aggressive with each other. It was amazing to see so many together, but why so many on one night? Is it the peak of the mating season? The summer solstice?
Gardeners' World Web User
22/06/2009 at 12:17
Reply to MH Thank you, your comment made me laugh out loud. To badly paraphrase the well known proverb, one man's delightful flying stag is another man's pestilential garden maggot. Reply to Beetlewatchers Stag beetle larvae pupate just under the surface of the soil and wait, often several weeks, until they somehow sense the moment is right to emerge. This leads to a build up of beetles-in-waiting and suddenly the temperature, humidity, day-length or other factors reach the trigger moment. Synchronized emergence has the benefit of hopefully making sure there are others of the right species around to mate with when you appear.
Gardeners' World Web User
22/06/2009 at 21:24
thank you Richard! We saw a few more tonight, so they are still active. We wondered why they were swarming around one particular high tree and garden, but realised the garden is almost like a small woodland area, logs on the ground, nice and dark and damp. Ideal habitat, by the look of it.
Gardeners' World Web User
25/06/2009 at 19:32
Belated thanks for your reply, Richard. Yes,that was definitely the one. Can't believe I've lived for 70 years without seeing one - definitely worth the wait!
Gardeners' World Web User
26/06/2009 at 20:43
Somebody help. The cat next door wanted to devour one, here in Bournemouth, Dorset, so I captured it. HE is about 7 cm long. Still alive, now in my house. What can I now do?
Gardeners' World Web User
26/06/2009 at 20:49
Sorry forgot to say it is a very big Stag Beetle
Gardeners' World Web User
29/06/2009 at 19:56
hi i live in grundisburgh near woodbridge it the 29th today and it is 9:00 pm and my mum was out side and told us that there was a stag bettle out side in the garden so we put it near some rotten wood as it likes it we think that it is probably a female as we have had a male before and the male had bigger stags
Gardeners' World Web User
08/07/2009 at 12:43
Belated reply to Ian Wait until dusk, then let the beetle go crawling up a tree trunk or into a log pile.
Gardeners' World Web User
23/07/2009 at 19:57
We were sorting out the end of the garden this year and unearthed various bits of builder's rubble including some bits of fence posts which contained Stag Beetle Grubs - huge white horrid looking things - we felt so guilty as they can spend years underground as grubs before pupating and crawling out as beetles. We buried the wood again and have seen 1 male and 1 female in the garden a couple of months later - sadly weeks apart so whether they found 'love' who knows !!
Gardeners' World Web User
28/11/2011 at 18:38
2 months ago i planted 2 apple trees,they are about 4ft. tallone is a cooker and looks healthy the other a cox has developed brown rust patches on the leaves.can anyone tell me what this is and how to treat it. many thanks gerald_gardiner@sky.com
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