The stag beetle lives in oak forests. He feeds on the sap of trees. Males are much larger than females. Their distinctive feature is powerful jaws that resemble horns.
The stag beetle, which belongs to the order of beetles, has several names. For some, he is an ordinary stag, for others - a lucan. Lucanus cervus is the name for the stag beetle in Latin. Its distinctive feature is the presence of large jaws. Outwardly, they look like large curved horns.
Key Information
Scientists distinguish six subspecies of this insect. His life expectancy is short. After reaching adulthood, he dies in a month. It is believed that the stag beetle is the largest insect that lives in Europe. The average body length of males is approximately seventy millimeters. But there are insects that reach 10 centimeters.
In addition to onions, another giant beetle lives in Russia. This is a relic lumberjack. Its size is slightly larger than the size of a stag. But with large jaws, nature rewarded only male stag beetles. Females do not have them. Therefore, their body length does not exceed 40 millimeters. The wings of insects of both sexes are painted in dark brown. Females have deeper, almost black shades.
Appearance
The eyes of a stag beetle are partially covered by buccal protrusions. The lip hanging from above is bent and directed downwards. The legs and torso of the stag are composed of separate segments. The body of the insect is conditionally divided into three parts. Describe the head, abdomen and chest. The main segment consists of eight joints. The chest is formed by three elements. The insect is distinguished by a wide head, from which crank processes protrude.
The antennae have different lengths. They consist of two joints and end with maces. Judging by the description and photo of the stag beetle, the teeth protrude from their red-brown mandibles. There are also ordinary browns. Three pairs of powerful legs are attached to the chest. They are widely spaced. The description and photo of the stag beetle demonstrate that there are yellow spots between them. They are covered with a dense layer of hairs and villi.
Internal structure
The stag organs and systems have much in common with other representatives of the winged wing detachment. The first link in the digestion is the mouth. He is on his head. Food enters the esophagus bypassing the throat. On the way to the stomach, she finds herself in a goiter. This is a wide depression in the lower part of the pharynx. In it, food products are carefully crushed and ground. They enter the stomach in a prepared form. Acid is responsible for the absorption of beneficial and nutrients. Undigested residues enter the intestines, from which they exit through the anus. It is located at the very end of the body of the insect.
The description of the stag beetle says that the respiratory system of the stag uses oxygen. Gas enters the trachea through special openings. They are localized on the upper body of the individual and on the inside of the abdomen. The circulatory system has a primitive structure. It belongs to the open type. In a brief description of the stag beetle, the insect 's heart is reminiscent of a tube divided into segments. Muscles that are attached on both sides are responsible for the hemolymph distillation.
The fluid circulating in the insect's heart system is colorless and transparent. It contains blood cells. The main task of the heart is to transport nutrients to organs and tissues. Unclaimed elements from hemolymph are sent to the intestine, from where they are removed from the body of the insect.
In an article from the Red Book of Russia, the stag beetle is described as an insect in which the fatty body plays the role of the kidneys. It serves as a place of accumulation of uric acid, which is formed in the organs of the stag excretory system.
Life management
Elements of the insect's nervous system:
- brain;
- chain of nerve endings;
- near pharyngeal ganglion.
The neurosecret is responsible for the development and growth of individuals. Stag beetles breed through the reproductive system. The ovaries of females produce eggs. They are fertilized by seminal fluid, which is produced by the thin tubes of the testes. The sensory organs are responsible for life safety. They are focused on the stag’s head.
According to a brief description in the Red Book, a stag beetle has systems of vision, smell and touch. Special antennae are responsible for the recognition of odors. They help to search for food in a radius of up to three kilometers. Feeling of objects occurs through the jaws protruding forward.
Two eyes are on either side of the head. They are a complex system, which includes thousands of the smallest visual elements. This structure allows you to see in detail everything that happens next to the insect.
What does a stag beetle look like in wildlife?
With the onset of dawn, insects lose their former mobility. They become less active. The hunting period falls at night. In the afternoon, stag beetles sit on trees, eating greens. Insects do not favor wind and rain. In the hours of inclement weather, they hide in the branches of shrubs.
Interesting facts about the stag beetle:
- insects do not fly if the air temperature drops below +16 ° C;
- pitch darkness also serves as an obstacle to movement;
- during soaring, the males maintain an almost vertical position, compensating for the outweighing mandibles.
In the process of movement, stag beetles remain stable and maneuverable. Males fly more often and further than females. The basis of the daily diet are tree sap. Their favorite treat is oak. They absorb fluid with the help of a proboscis located in the lower part of the head. In the struggle for a tidbit or a female, stag beetles push and push each other. Most often, they swarm around tree trunks.
Tournaments
The mating season begins in late May. At this time, zoologists receive the most interesting and vivid photos of the stag beetle. Sometimes the breeding process may be delayed. This usually happens due to bad weather and low air temperature. Search and selection of a partner occurs after sunset, but before total darkness.
To charm the female, the insect circles around her, showing herself in all its splendor. The males are aggressive. They constantly come into confrontation. The reason is female or food. Having met another male, the stag occupies an almost vertical position and spreads its mustache. If the competitor is not inferior, then the insects enter the fray.
The one who manages to throw the opponent off the branch wins. During such a battle, it is clearly visible in the photo of the stag beetle, insects pierce each other's wings, cause injury. True, all these injuries are not fatal.
Breeding
Stags mate on tree branches. Mandibles are used to hold the female in a certain position. Some time after fertilization, female beetles lay their eggs. To store offspring, they choose rotten stumps, hollows and cracks in the trunks. Sometimes the masonry is in the ground. In this case, it is covered with dried leaves and dried grass.
From egg to larva
In one clutch there can be up to two dozen eggs. Their size exceeds two millimeters. They are painted yellow and have not round, but oval shape. In the egg, the embryo is no more than six weeks old. The larva that is born has a light creamy tint.
Her body is bent, and her head stands out against the general background. She is much more than other joints. Already at this stage, the beetle has pronounced jaws, which in an adult turn into mandibles. The body length of the larva reaches thirteen millimeters. The body is thick, resembles the phalanx of the human finger.
The embryo’s menu has rotting remains of wood that are found in abundance inside rotten stumps. Rebirth in a chrysalis takes about five years. If the years are cold and dry, then this process can drag on.
From chrysalis to beetles
The cocoon that the future chrysalis needs is formed from the remnants of the bark. The insect fastens its fractions with its own secretions. After hardening, the cocoon is strong and monolithic. The bed of males implies the presence of free space. It is intended for future mandibles. The cocoon lies at a depth of twenty centimeters. Usually it is buried in soft soil. During this period, the length of the larva is almost five centimeters.
The appearance of a young stag takes about three months. Insects begin to leave their cocoons in May, and end in mid-September. Traditional insect habitats include the following regions:
- Middle Asia;
- northern Africa;
- Eastern and Western Europe;
- foothills of the Caucasus;
- Primorye.
Stag beetles are destroyed by birds of prey. Natural enemies of beetles are owls and eagle owls, magpies and crows. Contrary to popular belief, deer do not harm healthy trees. Insects settle only in the trunks of the already dead. Plus, their larvae take part in the processing of rotting wood, but they are not at all interested in window frames and doors.
Ecology
Currently, the number of stag beetles is constantly decreasing. This is due to adverse environmental conditions. Today, the stag beetle is included in the lists of security documents of many European countries. But before he was massively exterminated. For centuries, males served as a talisman. In the modern era, stag beetles became insects of the year in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Their images are present on metal coins and stamps.
For reference
The first mention of these insects dates back to ancient Greece. The Romans caught stag, dried and dismembered. The heads of the males were strung on threads and worn around the neck.
There are many beliefs associated with bugs. German coal burners believed that insects spread fire and set fire to rural houses. The Italians called these insects flying deer. Healers of the Middle Ages believed that the ashes of a burnt beetle eliminates a number of diseases of the genitourinary system and even helps to cope with fever.
The British did not favor the stag. They saw in them bad omens, and therefore in every possible way destroyed. In the Renaissance, deer beetles inspired painters, as evidenced by the paintings of Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, Albrecht Durer, Giovannino de Grassi.
Did you know?
During pupation, the larvae communicate with each other. They make high sounds that last one second and are periodically repeated. Beetles are conventionally divided into three groups. The first includes individuals with an enlarged upper tooth. The second includes stag beetles with a large apical ledge. The third category includes insects with weakly pronounced teeth.
Wasp-scoli in the body of stag beetles lay eggs. To immobilize massive insects, they sting him.