Stag beetle mating quiz

When stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) emerge all they want to do is to mate, and they do it in the evenings when they are most active, and safer from predators. Their matings sometimes involve fierce competition for a single female, and the males will not hesitate to interfere with a mating pair. If you aren't familiar with their mating behaviour then visit this page before you attempt this quiz. In this crowded mating picture, taken in a real life situation in an alleyway, how many stag beetles can you spot? Can you sex them?
Photo taken by Maria Fremlin on 28 May 2005, at 9.32 pm.	There are 1 male stag beetle 2 male stag beetles 3 male stag beetles 4 male stag beetles There are 1 female stag beetle 2 female stag beetles 3 female stag beetles 4 female stag beetles Try again
PS: The female on the left stayed in its crevice for a long time. During the day she would cover herself with soil, and during the night she would sometimes pop out, just a bit... Sometimes head up, but on other occasions the other way round, and she could be noisy! She had many visitors, alas there was only room for one! I last saw her on 18 June, the night after a mass flight that she obviously didn't join.

JavaScript by John and Peter Fremlin, my sons. Last modified: Wed Sep 3 07:20:44 GMT 2008