Male stag beetle with its striking mouthparts, or mandibles. Around 1,000 beetle species rely on trees and woodland habitats, from … They range in size, colour and shape but all have biting or chewing mouthparts and hardened wing cases with wings folded beneath. British beetle species have a varied diet. Using their huge jaws, males grapple with each other for the best locations. They are a group of about 1,200 species. Take the insects quiz . Beetles are a group of insects under the order Coleoptera, the largest order of Class Insecta. Learn what do beetles eat based on their living surroundings. Some species grow to 8 centimetres (3¼ inches), but most are about 5 centimetres (2 inches). It can be distinguished from the male Stag beetle by its smaller jaws and distinctively knobbed antennae, and from the small-jawed female stag beetle by its all-black wing cases. Discover colourful and striking British beetles, including a particularly vibrant ladybird, magnificent stag beetle, impressive wasp mimic and rare rainbow-coloured beetle. The best mating sites are where females go to eat, or near the rotting wood where females lay eggs. What do beetles eat? Meanwhile, the dor beetle eats faeces from animals. Unfortunately, when stag beetles get sick, there isn’t much humans can do to … Find out what beetles eat and get help with UK beetle identification. Stag beetles only exists … Stag beetles belong to the family Lucanidae. Many other species prefer the pollen and nectar from plants. The Lesser stag beetle is a large beetle with a broad head and large mandibles. Stag beetles are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and other insects. In Britain, they are found in southern and southeastern areas of England. Stag beetles spend 3–7 years as a grub (young beetle) living in dead tree stumps and eating the rotting wood. Stag beetles can be found in Southern and central Europe. Some species, such as the lesser stag beetle like to eat rotting wood, while the orange and black sexton beetle, favour decaying animals to lay their larvae. However, they prefer eating plants and only eat other insects if no other food source is available. Stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) are protected in the UK under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended. Three sites – Epping Forest, Richmond Park, and Wimbledon & Putney Commons – are designated European Special Areas for Conservation partly for stag beetles. Although in nature stag beetles often fight, if you keep one beetle per case, they will live longer, healthier lives. Stag beetles have been recorded in most London boroughs, but are much more commonly seen in south and west London, from Bexley, Lewisham and Southwark to Wimbledon, Richmond and Uxbridge. They feed on things like decaying matter, plants, other insects, and even animals. From the left: first, second and third instars. Stag beetles […] Below right is a photo of stag beetle larvae at different stages of development. Quiz. It is endangered and is the UK's biggest terrestrial beetle. Many stag beetles, both male and female, will fight and possibly kill each other if placed in the same case. Stag beetle, (family Lucanidae), also called pinching bug, any of some 900 species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) in which the mandibles (jaws) are greatly developed in the male and resemble the antlers of a stag.In many species the elaborately branched and toothed mandibles may be as long as the beetle itself. Some of the things stag beetles seek out include decaying wood, leaves, nectar, flowers and fruit that has fallen to … If handled carelessly, their pinch can draw blood from a person. Those jaws don’t just look like antlers; male stag beetles combat each other for mating opportunities just as male elk and deer do. 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