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Species Lucanus capreolus - Reddish-brown Stag Beetle
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Scarab, Stag and Bess Beetles)
Family Lucanidae (Stag Beetles)
Genus Lucanus
Species capreolus (Reddish-brown Stag Beetle)
Other Common Names Pinching Bug, Common Stag Beetle Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Lucanus capreolus (Linnaeus 1763: 391)
= Lucanus dama Fabricius 1775: 2
= Lucanus trigonus Thunberg 1806: 199
= Lucanus muticus Thunberg 1806: 205 Explanation of Names Species name "capreolus" is from Latin, meaning "roe deer" ("capreolus" literally means "little goat", but the roe deer got the name because it's smaller and more agile than the other deer species). The name refers to the resemblance of the antennae to deer antlers.
There are three common deer species in Europe: the red deer (elk in America), Cervus elaphus, the roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, and the fallow deer, Dama dama. The specific epithet for each was used for a species of Lucanus, but Lucanus dama turned out to be the same as Lucanus capreolus. Identification Dark reddish brown, femora tan/orange. Males have much larger jaws than females. Jaws of male not as large as those of Lucanus elaphus. The smaller L. placidus has two or more teeth on jaws and has the femora dark. Range Eastern US and adjacent Canada Habitat Deciduous forests and adjacent areas. Attracted to lights. Season Listed as June-July by Milne, region not specified. (1) Collected June-September, December in North Carolina by Brimley. (2)Food Tree sap. Adults in captivity for study will readily drink diluted maple syrup or sugar water.
Larvae feed in rotting logs. They are not harmful to vegetation. Life Cycle Found at lights, at bait, and around decaying logs, stumps, where it breeds. Males use mandibles to fight at breeding sites. Eggs are deposited in rotting wood. Larvae live in decaying wood of deciduous trees. They take two years to develop, pupate in nearby soil. Remarks Smaller than the spectacular Lucanus elaphus, but still an impressive beetle. See Also female Lucanus elaphus is similar
large ground beetles of genus Pasimachus are superficially similar--note the clubbed antennae of Lucanus and the thread-like or beaded antennae of PasimachusPrint References Milne, p. 553, figure 218 (1)
Dillon, p. 568, plate LVI #2, 3 (3)
White, p. 135-136, fig. 51 (4)
Arnett, p. 167, fig. 411 (5)
Lutz, 3rd. edition, plate 61--illustration (6)
Sikes, p. 118, lists as common at lights in Rhode Island. (7)Internet References Beetles of Florida lists from norhtern part of state and Panhandle.
Univ. Kentucky--critter case files
North Carolina State University Entomology Collection has 116 pinned, including specimens from that state. (P. placidus has 30 pinned.) Works Cited | 5. | How to Know the Beetles
By Ross H. Arnett, N. M. Downie, H. E. Jaques | |
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