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Have you ever seen a stag beetle in your garden? Throughout my 14 years of living in Furzedown, I have seen a fair few just appear seemingly out of no-where in my garden over summer, and I was always astounded by their size and beauty. My mum and sister on the other hand were terrified! Although the large jaws of the males appear scary to us, they are completely harmless and used to fight with other males for access to females, not to hurt humans. These beetles also have the ability to fly, albeit clumsily, and make a clattering sound in the air as they do so. They are generally active from May to July and can be spotted over these months.
Stag beetles have a really interesting distribution around Europe and the UK in particular. In some places, they are almost extinct and in others they are absolutely thriving and population numbers are high. South West London is one of the population hotspots for stag beetles in the UK and scientists are still not really sure why.
Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common are just a few places that are special areas of conservation for this species. They can live in a variety of different habitats but the key feature they rely on is dead wood. Their larvae grow in dead wood and it is also their main food source so without this, they will cease to reproduce and survive. Unfortunately due to many parks becoming much more urban and focussed on what humans desire aesthetically as opposed to what wildlife requires to survive, much deadwood has been removed from our parks in recent years.
So, what can we do to help stag beetle populations in London continue to thrive?
One really important thing we can do is to record any sightings we have of them to the London Wildlife Trust. They have a monitoring scheme for this species, and any data they obtain on where and when this species is seen is really helpful.
Another thing you can do is create stag beetle friendly environments in your back gardens to encourage their presence and help them survive. This can include log piles where they can nest, hide from predators and take shelter.
You can also get involved in social media campaigns like the one run by the London Wildlife Trust, and share any pictures or videos you have of the species.
Although their population numbers are high in our area, it’s important to remember that they are an endangered species. We must not get complacent, and put all of the measures in place to ensure they continue to prosper in many areas of London, and beyond.
If you’d like to find out more about how you can help stag beetles, visit the London Wildlife Trust website for their stag beetle campaign, where some information for this nature note has been extracted from: https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/stag-beetle-campaign.