Stag Beetle Season

It's Stag Beetle Lucanus cervus (Fr. le lucane cerf-volant) season in the Loire Valley. The adults are out and looking to find one another for lurve. These are big beetles. I found the female in these photos wandering up our driveway. After our photo session I moved her into our neighbours nicely wild garden as they have trees and undergrowth and we don't. I didn't want her getting squashed outside my back door.

A couple of days later a male flew over our heads as we sat on the banks of the Creuse enjoying the annual Barroudeur music festival. They can be quite alarming when airborn -- no control at all.

Stag Beetles need several years to mature underground munching rotting wood as larvae, so if you have a big stump in your garden, consider leaving it there for a few of years, to provide a home for young Stags. Or put aside half a dozen firewood logs and sink them into the ground. Stag Beetles often take up residence.

You can learn all about European Stag Beetles on Maria Fremlin's excellent website. For details of how to create Stag Beetle habitat in your garden, check out the People's Trust for Endangered Species instructions.

Stag Beetles are Red Listed as Nationally Threatened, and are a protected species.

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