Lesser Stag-beetle

Another very early start to drop Pete and Chris at the station, and then I was off to Lincolnshire to record another tetrad, this time around the former location of Sempringham Priory. While there were some interesting corners, much of it was quite intensively farmed and I ended up walking through a very large field of rape, some of which was taller than me! (see extra).

By lunchtime it was becoming vert hot and sticky, so I headed home and spent the afternoon entering records and pottering in the garden. I collected Chris and Pete about half-past six, and as we walked towards the front door Chris spotted this Lesser Stag Beetle.  Although it's smaller than its famous cousin, it's still a relatively large beetle with large jaws. Adults can be found in woodland, parks and along hedgerows during the summer, often resting in the sun on tree trunks. The larvae depend on old trees and rotting wood to live in and feed on, and both adults and larvae can be found in the decaying wood of ash, beech and apple. The adults can be seen flying about at night, sometimes coming to outside lights. They mate and lay their eggs in a suitable piece of decaying wood. 


As it was on sitting our front path we took it into the back garden where we have some ageing apple trees with decaying wood, which it seemed to find quite interesting!