Stag Beetle on an Apple Tree

[Algida]

Hi,
Have you ever seen a stag beetle?

My Cox's got a guest.
It seems that I'm not the only one liking apples. It's a bit early though. I'll tell him to come back in September.

[Lindsaylew82]

I would have a real hard time gettin that one in the soap bucket. That might be a job for the resident man!

[JONA]

Aren't they just great Algida.
Getting very rare now.

[Algida]

He's so....weird.
If ignoring the size and looking at the head, he looks like a stag hiding in a tree
And those antennas... he's communicating with Alpha Centauri
Men in Black needed.

[applestar]

I'm seeing what you are seeing and agree with you 100% bring the Big Gun not the tiny little one

Thanks for sharing this photo.

JONA -- long time ago and far far away, I collected these and rhino beetles too for summer project. Sad to hear that they are declining and regretting the careless way they were treated.

[j3707]

Wow! I would like to see one in real life someday.

[JONA]

We leave old tree trunks piled up in a copse on the farm to try to encourage Stags.
This spring I've seen the odd female ...but no males yet.

[rainbowgardener]

I think they are very cool and I would never kill one, but I don't know that I could bring myself to get close enough to figure out whether it was a boy or a girl!

[JONA]

It's easy RG,
the girls have no antlers!

[Algida]

If you were wondering how he's doing: still in the tree.





I think I woke him up.
Well... celebrity demands sacrifice.

[HoneyBerry]

Some great pictures! I was expecting something less spectacular based on the title. This is such an amazing creature. I had never seen a beetle like that before so I looked it up. Apparently the antlers are a male characteristic and the size of the antlers vary from one beetle to the next.
Most people are creeped out by spiders and things, but not me. I adore them. Thank you for this.