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Helpline for Larvae and other queries
If you have a problem with larvae that have just been disturbed, first, bear in mind that the larvae don't relocate well, the reason being that they are rather fragile, see below.
Larvae soon after being relocated: dark larvae are dead. Photo by Maria Fremlin, April 2010.
Summary: Lucanus cervus: 2 alive, 8 dead; Dorcus parallelipipedus: 1 alive; Cetonia aurata: 2 alive, 1 dead.
Also, generally, they don't tolerate a change of diet. The fact is that in order to digest any goodness out of rotten wood the larvae have developed a very complex digestive system, their guts are a fermenting vat full of fussy micro-organisms, hence they don't take well to being moved. For more visit How stag beetle larvae feed.
Therefore I hope that some of the following suggestions will help you solve your problem as soon as possible.
- Ideally you should put the larvae back and leave them alone. They are probably already doing an excellent job for you by eating away the wood.
- If that is not possible then try to replicate their habitat in a shady corner and leave it so that the larvae can complete their development undisturbed.
- However if none of the above applies, place the larvae in a bucket with soil and a bit of the stuff that they were feeding on, cover it and place it in a shaded area. Then seek help locally as soon as possible.
- Or else contact me as wherever possible I would like to visit the site.
Status:
Stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) are listed under Annex II of the EC Habitats Directive and Appendix III of the Bern Convention. Protected in the UK under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended.
For their status in other countries visit:
Current status of the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) in Europe.
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