Giant Stag Beetle
Lucanus elaphus Fabricius, 1775
Giant Stag Beetle: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/11134
Synonyms
American Stag Beetle  Lucanus carlengi 
Tags
Status Uncertain

Map Snapshot

50 Records

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Status

Staines' 1984 checklist listed the species from St. Mary’s and Somerset Counties, but most recent records we know of have come from St. Mary's County. We also received records from Charles County and Dorchester County (June 2017). It might be found in Calvert or other lower Eastern Shore counties as well. Maryland DNR lists the species as "status uncertain", meaning that it may be of special concern, but there has not been enough data collected to determine the status in Maryland. Found in deciduous forests in the eastern U.S.

Description

Males are massive with distinctive, elongated mandibles. Females can be identified via shape of the labrum (central area between the mandibles), which is "only pointed and triangular in females of this species. Females of L. capreolus or L. placidus have this structure blunt and truncated (never pointed)" (MJ Paulsen via BugGuide, 2006).

Seasonality Snapshot

Resources

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Source: Wikipedia

Lucanus elaphus
Adult male Lucanus elaphus

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Lucanidae
Genus: Lucanus
Species:
L. elaphus
Binomial name
Lucanus elaphus
Fabricius, 1775

Lucanus elaphus, the giant stag beetle[1], elk stag beetle, or erroneously as the elephant stag beetle,[2] is a beetle of the family Lucanidae native to eastern North America.[3][4] They are sometimes kept as pets.

Etymology

[edit]

Elaphus in Greek means "deer".[5] Compare with the Red Deer or elk (Cervus elaphus), 'cervus' meaning 'deer' in Latin.

[edit]
  • Differences in size of Lucanus elaphus
    Differences in size of Lucanus elaphus
  • Adult female Lucanus elaphus, 29 millimeters long
    Adult female Lucanus elaphus, 29 millimeters long
  • Adult male Lucanus elaphus
    Adult male Lucanus elaphus
  • Mandibles of male Lucanus elaphus
    Mandibles of male Lucanus elaphus
  • Adult female Lucanus elaphus, 29 millimeters long
    Adult female Lucanus elaphus, 29 millimeters long
  • Underside of adult female
    Underside of adult female

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b NatureServe (4 August 2023). "Lucanus elaphus". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  2. ^ Milne, Lorus; Milne, Margery (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders. Visual key by Susan Rayfield. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 552. ISBN 0-394-50763-0.
  3. ^ "Lucanus elaphus". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  4. ^ Staines, C. L. (2001). "Distribution of Lucanus elaphus Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) in North America". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 55 (4): 397–404. doi:10.1649/0010-065X(2001)055[0397:DOLELC]2.0.CO;2.
  5. ^ LSJ.


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