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Species Platycerus quercus - Oak Stag Beetle

stag beetle - Platycerus quercus - female Platycerus quercus - male Oak Stag Beetle - Platycerus quercus Platycerus quercus Could it be a stag - Platycerus quercus Platycerus quercus Platycerus quercus? - Platycerus quercus - male Platycerus quercus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
Family Lucanidae (Stag Beetles)
Subfamily Lucaninae
Tribe Platycerini
Genus Platycerus
Species quercus (Oak Stag Beetle)
Other Common Names
Incorrectly referred to as P. virescens (Fabr.) since Benesh 1946, however that name pertains to a trogossitid. Historically and correctly named P. quercus (Smith & Paulsen 2017).
Explanation of Names
Platycerus quercus (Weber 1801)
quercus = 'oak'
Size
7.6-12.0 mm(1)
Identification
reddish brown to blackish, may have brassy or greenish tinge. Male mandibles as long as head(2)
m: f:
Range
Relatively abundant in northeastern US, range extends as far west as TX-NE(1)(3)
Habitat
Associated with rotting logs; adults sometimes on flowers(2); in rotting tree trunks and beneath bark(1)
Season
Mar-Nov in NE(1)
Print References
Benesh B. (1946) A systematic revision of the holarctic genus Platycerus Geoffroy (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., 72(3): 139-202.
Hoffman C.H. (1937) Biological notes on Pseudolucanus placidus Say, Platycerus quercus Weber and Ceruchus piceus Weber (Lucanidae, Coleoptera). Entomological News 48: 281-284.
Mathieu J.M. (1969) Mating behavior of five species of Lucanidae (Coleoptera: Insecta). Canadian Entomologist 101: 1054-1062.
Smith A.B.T & M.J. Paulsen. 2017. Corrections to the nomenclature of three species of North American Lucanidae (Coleoptera). Coleopterists Bulletin 71(3): 571-577.
Works Cited
1.The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.
2.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence. 1961. Row, Peterson, and Company.
3.An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of Texas.
Edward G. Riley & Charles S. Wolfe. 2003. Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement. 37 pp.