HUGE Beetle. ID needed

[Nikos]

sorry for poor quality photos but i was too lazy to take my camera so i used the mobile phone one.

Found somewhere in Northewestern Greece, anyone care to ID it?
Its quite big, somewhere in the 8-10cm range
Whatever it is, I'm guessing its a male, right?
Thanks

 

[Gigas]

Lucanus sp. stag beetle I'll say Lucanus cervus because its the only one I am aware of in europe



EDIT yes Its male

 

[Nikos]

what do they eat?
is fruits (banana, apple, peach) OK?

 

[dtknow]

That will work, I hear watered down(real) maple syrup works as well to provide some quick calories. I'd go back to where you found this guy and look for a female.

 

[Steven Gielis]

Aren't they protected?

 

[Gigas]

They are protected by EU law,but I think the main rules of their protection is that specialised habitat must be present for them, I'm not sure if it goes deeper.

 

[beetleman]

:clap: yeah! now that's what i'm talkin about, that is 1 beautiful stag.

 

[Black Widow88]

Stag Beetle! And a nice one too! I wish that I could see one of these dead or alive!

 

[Mat]

Lucanus sp. stag beetle I'll say Lucanus cervus because its the only one I am aware of in europe

The pic is a male Lucanus cervus. There are other members of the family found in Europe including some of the smaller Dorcus species. The only other beetle that used to be classed as Lucanus but has now been moved to Pseudolucanus is P.barbarossa from Spain.

what do they eat?
is fruits (banana, apple, peach) OK?

Adult L.cervus eat little to nothing at all, unlike some to the other stag beetle species. Active adult lifespan is about 6 weeks, mainly powere by fat laid down by the larvae.

They are protected by EU law,but I think the main rules of their protection is that specialised habitat must be present for them, I'm not sure if it goes deeper.

The are a European protected species. As well as habitat implications, in most places in Europe you are not allowed to collect or trade with this species.

Matt

 

[kahoy]

how about dead dry specimens for mounting?

 

[Steven Gielis]

In Belgium it's even illegal to have a death dried specimen. Even if you found a death one in nature. Unless you can prove that the specimen is from before the law went in force.

 

[Mat]

how about dead dry specimens for mounting?

In Belgium it's even illegal to have a death dried specimen. Even if you found a death one in nature. Unless you can prove that the specimen is from before the law went in force.

Depends on where you are in Europe and how the European regulations are applied. Here in the UK we have a 'derogation', which means that the EU have agreed that the EU rules are not fully implemented.

In the UK the Stag Beetle is only partly protected, it has a 'sale only' protection, this means you cannot sell specimens or collect them for sale or 'exchange'. If you are in the UK you are allowed to collect specimens for your own personal collection if you wish.

Matt

 

[AnthrpicDecadnc]

out of every coleoptera on this planet, stag beetles have always been my favorite. I wish they grew mandibles like THAT here.. the ones i see have these little versions of that, so much so that when my brother and i first came across one of them when i was like 5, we both thought it was female. then we CAUGHT a female and realized that it was a male. i remember finding the ones with the huge mandibles even before that, but we've never seen them since. where are they

 

[Nikos]

ok this guy was released back to where we found him (or rather he found us cause he walked over us during our walk).

A very good looking bug for sure!