Lesser Stag Beetle
Dorcus parallelipipedus
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- 3-6 yrs
- Size
- Medium
- Diet
- Decomposer
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate forest
- Range
- Europe
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Armor
- Status
- Common
About
Unlike its flashier cousin the Great Stag Beetle, the Lesser Stag Beetle is uniformly matte black — large mandibles prominent in both sexes. Its larvae spend up to five years burrowing through rotting deciduous wood before the adult finally emerges.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA small egg is laid on or near the larval food source and hatches within days or weeks.
- 2.juvenileAn immature insect feeds and molts, growing through successive instars.
- 3.subadultA near-adult insect has wing buds or near-mature form, one molt away from full size.
- 4.adultFully grown, with full wings and adult coloration.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Coleoptera
- Family
- Lucanidae
- Genus
- Dorcus
- Species
- Dorcus parallelipipedus