stag beetles

magicbastarder

do we have stag beetles in ireland?
i was helping a friend chop wood last night, some of which had been dead for at least a year, and i found a larva which certainly looked like a stag beetle larva. i dropped it back in to a pile of rotting wood.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

We have indeed got them and you found that larva in just the right sort of place. We don't see the adults too often as relative to the larva they don't live that long and are in places people are rarely looking.

Mothman

Kyrie Acidic Girl wrote: »

We have indeed got them and you found that larva in just the right sort of place. We don't see the adults too often as relative to the larva they don't live that long and are in places people are rarely looking.

Stag Beetle Lucanus cervus is not on Irish list, meaning it hasn't been officially recorded and I think it is unlikely to be in Ireland.
There are 2 related beetles detailed on InvertebrateIreland.
Lesser Stag Beetle and Rhinoceros Beetle
Any idea what kind of tree the wood was from?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Dorcus Parallillelipedus (spelling?) and Sinodendron Cylindricum (Spell?) are commonly reffered to as Stag Beetles and are both recorded in Ireland.

magicbastarder

Mothman wrote: »

Any idea what kind of tree the wood was from?

i think it was horse chestnut.