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Stag Beetle Lucanus cervus Corpses
Unfortunately stag beetles face up quite a lot of dangers and during the flying season quite a few can be found dead. The photos below were all taken where I live, an urban stag beetle hotspot.
Magpie victims
Male stag beetle killed by a magpie. Magpies and all the members of their family show great preference for their abdomen, and corpses like the ones shown here can be found throughout Lucanus cervus range, UK and continental Europe, unfortunately.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. May 27 2005.
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Female stag beetle magpie victim, 31 mm. This female was still alive, waving her legs up in the air, when I found her; I had captured her the day before, hence the marks on her wing cases.
In fact, live corpses of magpie victims aren't an unusual thing to find; just click on the picture to see a video of how she was even capable of turning herself over.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. July 6 2006.
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Male and female characteristic magpie victims.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. July 2005.
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Victims of human activities
Trodden on male stag beetle which not only has a typically crashed pronutum but a protruding aedeagus as well.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. June 26 2006.
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Trodden female with a cracked pronutum, and an egg in the sticking out fat. Stag beetles have good fat reserves in their abdomen and the magpies unfortunately have discovered that. Here are more photos of stag beetle eggs.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. June 28 2006.
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Victim of unknown predator
Now I'm ending this gruesome page with a live beetle and a question for you.
Who has been nibbling this stag beetle's legs and one antennae as well?
Do get in touch with me if you have got any ideas, please.
The trouble with leg nibbled stag beetles is that they fall over and then can't right themselves back again, which makes them very vulnerable, of course.
Photo by Maria Fremlin. Colchester, Essex, England. June 8 2005 21:41hrs.
Another victim of unknown predator
Another interesting puzzling photo is in the The Great Stag Hunt, 2006 - Your Stag Beetle Pictures. It is of a male stag beetle with the ends of its antlers missing. Do tell me what you think of this one too.
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