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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Stag Beetles (Lucanidae) » Lucaninae » Lucanini » Lucanus » Reddish-brown Stag Beetle (Lucanus capreolus)

Species Lucanus capreolus - Reddish-brown Stag Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Works Cited

Giant Stag Beetle - Lucanus capreolus - male

Reddish-Brown Stag Beetle - Lucanus capreolus

Lucanus capreolus - Lucanus capreolus - male

Stag Beetle - Lucanus capreolus - female

Pinching Beetle (L. capreolus) - Lucanus capreolus - male

Pennsylvania Beetle - Lucanus capreolus - male

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 Lucanini

Genus Lucanus

Species capreolus (Reddish-brown Stag Beetle)

Other Common Names

Reddish-brown Stag Beetle(1)), Pinching Bug, Pinching Beetle(2), Common Stag Beetle

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Lucanus capreolus (Linnaeus)

Orig. Comb: Scarabaeus capreolus Linnaeus 1763

Syn: Pseudolucanus capreolus (Linnaeus)

Explanation of Names

capreolus = verbatim, 'little goat' (Capreolus capreolus is the name of the roe deer)

Size

20-36 mm sans mandibles(3)

Identification

bicolored femora (light brown with darker apex) distinctive(3); male mandibles with a single internal tooth and are relatively much smaller than in L. elaphus. The smaller L. placidus has at least two teeth on mandibles and uniformly dark femora

Mandibles less strongly and coarsely punctate than L. placidus.

Range

e. US (west to WI-e.NE-e.TX) & ON(3)(4)(5)

Habitat

Deciduous forests, parks, and areas with mature trees(4); adults on sap flows, sugared baits, readily come to lights; larvae in rotting logs & stumps(3)(6)

Season

Jun-Sep & Dec in NC(7), Mar-Aug in NE(3)

Food

Adults: tree sap (in captivity will drink diluted maple syrup or sugar water); larvae feed in rotting logs.

Life Cycle

Eggs laid in rotting wood. Larvae take two years to develop, pupate in nearby soil.

Remarks

Males use mandibles to fight at breeding sites

Works Cited

1.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.

2.	Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America Eric Eaton, Kenn Kaufman. 2006. Houghton Mifflin.

3.	The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.

4.	Beetles of Eastern North America Arthur V. Evans. 2014. Princeton University Press.

5.	Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.

6.	The Beetle Fauna of Rhode Island, an Annotated Checklist Derek Sikes. 2004. Rhode Island Natural History Survey.

7.	Insects of North Carolina C.S. Brimley. 1938. North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

Contributed by Cotinis on 3 April, 2004 - 9:09am
Additional contributions by Phillip Harpootlian, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, nebbeetle, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 19 July, 2022 - 12:31pm

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