European stag beetle in Polissia
Lucanus cervus
Red Data Book of Ukraine: rare
The stag beetle is a large beetle with glossy dark brown wing cases. Males have huge reddish upper jaws resembling deer antlers, and with them they can be much longer than females. Females have small jaws.
The stag beetle lives in old oak woods and mixed forests with oak, and in old parks. In Polissia it occurs mainly in the south of the region, in the oak woods of Zhytomyr, Kyiv and Chernihiv regions.
The larvae develop for several years in the rotting wood of old oak stumps and roots. Adult beetles live only a few weeks in early summer: they fly on warm evenings and drink sap from damaged oaks. Males “fight” with their jaws over females.
The stag beetle is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. Do not catch the beetles for collections. Old oaks, stumps and fallen trunks in the forest are not a mess but a home for its larvae.
When to see: late May – July, on warm evenings
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990. Locations are shown approximately, to within 10 km.
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