Colin Hawes is the lead partner for the conservation of the stag beetle in Suffolk and is asking all SNS members and any members of the public to report your stag beetle sightings to him or to the Suffolk Biodiversity Information Survice (SBIS). Data collected will be used to produce an up-to-date map of stag beetle distribution in the county.

Stag beetles will emerge in warm weather from mid-May onwards, males first, about a week before females. You can see photos of both males and females below. Both sexes are crepuscular (active at dusk) and can be seen on warm evenings, when males will be flying in search of females. Females usually remain on the ground and re-lease sex pheromones to attract the males. The life of an individual beetle is short, lasting around four weeks, and by August almost all stag beetles will be dead. Eggs laid underground hatch into larvae, which continue the life cycle.