First stag beetle of the year

[BarriedaleNick]

Found this today in the pond near our old rotting wood pile.  You would have thought he would have been grateful but no!

Always good to see them in the garden.

[BarriedaleNick]

[Deb P]

Fab picture! ;D

[betula]

Yes great detail. :)

[BarriedaleNick]

Ta Deb P and betula - got funny looks from the nieghbours as I was lying on the grass at 8:30 this morning - i think they thought I had been there all night. ;D

[sarah]

great picture. we have been seeing a lot of them round here the last two or three years. we have a huge wood pile and they like it there. in the evenings we see them flying around looking for mates. if youhave never seen one fly ,its the funniest thing ever. they lookso unwieldy. i love them, they are so massive.  :D

[BarriedaleNick]

Sarah - I know what you mean - they look like drunken WW1 fighter planes.

[thifasmom]

lucky both of you, i hope they one day make it to my log piles.

[sarah]

lucky both of you, i hope they one day make it to my log piles.

they love rotting wood so if you make a secluded pile to let rot you might get lucky. if you find any big white grubs in the soil when you do your winter digging they are often stag beetle larve so leave them be. although there is a big white grub which is not stag beetle but something less desirable but i cant remember what that is...or how to tell the difference...

[Georgie]

Fab photo, thanks for sharing.  :)

G x

[littlebabybird]

i have to confess i hate them, they scare me badly, but i didnt realise they were goodies

brilliant photo, well done
lbb

[BarriedaleNick]

i have to confess i hate them, they scare me badly, but i didnt realise they were goodies
brilliant photo, well done
lbb

Cheers - If you think they are scary when adult have a look at the larvae!!

[shirlton]

I have never seen one.

[GREENWIZARD]

a very big boy
great capture=]

[BarriedaleNick]

Cheers GREENWIZARD..

Not sure what happend to me larvae pic so I am reposting..

[betula]

Yuc............you just put me off my bickie ;D

[Hector]

wow, I have always wanted to see one of these in real life. Magnificent. Do you get them in North of England/Wales...how big is that larva? Looks humungous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BarriedaleNick]

Hector - I dont think you'll find them in the North or Wales - not in any great numbers at least.
The larvae are quite big - not my pic below you see that they can be over two inches

[Hector]

My, that is HUGE!!!!!! Very envious :)

[Robert_Brenchley]

They've always been confined to a fairly small area in the south, unfortunately.