''Lucanus capreolus'', the reddish-brown stag beetle or pinching beetle, is a
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
of the family
Lucanidae
Stag beetles are a family of about 1,200 species of beetles in the family Lucanidae, currently classified in four subfamilies.Smith, A.B.T. (2006). A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections ...
. The specific name ''capreolus'' is derived from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, meaning "
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
" (''capreolus'' literally means "little
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
"). The name refers to the resemblance of the mandibles to deer antlers.
Description
A relatively large lucanid beetle of the genus ''Lucanus'', the male has long, curved upper jaws, resembling a sickle. The larvae are found in the trunks of old trees, feeding on the inner wood. It is dark reddish brown with smooth, shiny
elytra
An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...
(“wing cases”); the femora are orange brown. Males have much larger jaws than females. Jaws of males are not as large as those of ''
Lucanus elaphus
''Lucanus elaphus'', the giant stag beetle or elephant stag beetle, is a beetle of the family Lucanidae native to eastern North America. They are sometimes kept as pets.
Etymology
Elaphus in Greek means "deer". Compare with the Red Deer
Th ...
''. The smaller ''
L. placidus'' has two or more teeth on its jaws and has dark femora. It is 22–35 mm long.
The species was originally described by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
as ''Scarabaeus capreolus'' in his 1763 ''
Centuria Insectorum
The first page of ''Centuria Insectorum'', as included in ''Amoenitates Academicæ''
' (Latin, "one hundred insects") is a 1763 taxonomic work by Carl Linnaeus, and defended as a thesis by Boas Johansson; which of the two men should for taxonomi ...
''. (orig. comb.). Other known synonyms are:
Synonyms of ''Lucanus capreolus''
/ref>
*''L. dama'' Fabricius 1775: 2.
*''L. trigonus'' Thunberg, 1806: 199.
*''L. muticus'' Thunberg, 1806: 205.
As with most of the species of the Lucanidae, sexual dimorphism is pronounced, and the male of ''Lucanus capreolus'' is larger than the female and armed with mandibles in the form of antlers.
Habitat
It lives in deciduous forest
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
s and adjacent areas[Habitat of ''Lucanus capreolus'']
/ref> in the eastern United States and some parts of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It can be found around decaying logs and stumps, where it breeds. Males use mandibles to fight at breeding sites. Eggs are deposited in rotting wood. Larvae live in decaying wood of deciduous trees. Larvae reportedly take two years to develop, and pupate in nearby soil. They are attracted to lights at night. They have been found in captivity to make burrows and nest in soil and mulch.
Gallery
See also
*''Lucanus cervus
''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near ...
''
* Taxonomy of Lucanidae
References
External links
*
''Lucanus capreolus''
at the ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1307569
capreolus
''Capreolus'' is a genus of deer, the roe deer.
Etymology
English ''roe'' is from Old English ''ra'' or ''rá'', from ''raha'', from Proto-Germanic ''*raikhaz'', cognate to Old Norse ''ra'', Old Saxon ''reho'', Middle Dutch and Dutch ''ree'' ...
Beetles described in 1763
Beetles of North America
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus