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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

Reddish-brown Stag Beetle - Lucanus capreolus - male

Female Stag - Lucanus capreolus - female

Reddish-brown Stag Beetle - Lucanus capreolus

underside head, reddish brown stag beetle - Lucanus capreolus - male

Lucanus capreolus - 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)

Explanation of Names

Lucanus capreolus (Linnaeus 1763)

capreolus 'little goat'

Size

20‒36 mm sans mandibles(1)

Identification

bicolored femora distinctive(1); male mandibles with a single internal tooth and are relatively much smaller than in L. elaphus. L. placidus has at least two teeth on mandibles and uniformly dark femora

Mandibles less coarsely punctate than in L. placidus.

Range

ON & e.US to WI‒NE‒e.TX(1)(2)(3)

Habitat

areas with mature deciduous trees(3); adults on sap flows, sugared baits, readily come to lights; larvae in rotting logs & stumps(1)(4)

Season

Jun‒Sep & Dec in NC(5), Mar‒Aug in NE(1)

Food

Adults: tree sap (in captivity will drink diluted maple syrup or sugar water)

Life Cycle

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

Internet References

Species page(2)

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.	Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles (by Brett Ratcliffe and Mary Liz Jameson)

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

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

5.	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 29 December, 2024 - 6:04pm

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