Dorcus parallelipipedus
| Dorcus parallelipipedus | |
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| Dorcus parallelipipedus, adult | |
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| Species: | D. parallelipipedus
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| Dorcus parallelipipedus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Dorcus parallelipipedus is a beetle of the family Lucanidae and is found in Europe.
Known in Britain as the lesser stag beetle, both sexes resemble the female stag beetle, though it is a uniformly black colour rather than having the chestnut brown wing covers of the larger species. The lesser stag beetle is similar in appearance to the related antelope beetle (Dorcus parallelus) of North America.
Adults are from 18 to 32 mm in length. The male has distinctly knobbed antennae. Like other stag beetles, the beetle larva feeds on wood.
Although males have larger jaws than females, they are nowhere near as pronounced in size as is the case in true Stag Beetles. Adults as well as the white, C-shaped larvae are found in very soft decaying wood of broad-leaved trees, especially ash, beech and apple.
Adults are active in mid-summer and disperse by flying, and sometimes coming to outside lights. This is a widespread species in most of England and common, except in the very north, coming into gardens wherever there are big trees, orchards or old hedges.
External links
- http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/beetle4.htm
- http://maria.fremlin.de/stagbeetles/photos_dp.html
- Photos of Dorcus parallelipipedus
- http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o213-lesserstagbeetle.php
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