''Prosopocoilus savagei'' 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. It is found in Central and East Africa. It measures about 24–65 mm in males and 21–31 mm in females.

Description

This

is a shade of orange to brown, depending on its range. A black stripe runs down it from its head and pronotum to the bottom of the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

narrowing as it goes along, the males possess large mandibles for battling for territory and mates and can reach 24–65 mm. A female will be 21-31mm, the

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

are a creamy yellow and feed on rotten wood. They reach around 25–36 mm in length and are voracious eaters taking a year to reach the

pupal A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

phase and 4 months to pupate. The adults live for around 8 months in captivity and most likely live less in the wild, they feed on ageing fruits and tree sap.

Keeping as pets

this beetle makes a good pet and can be kept using oakwood mulch and leaf litter substrate along with a rotten log for the females to lay eggs in. the adults feed on fruit and beetle jelly.

References

File:Prosopocoilus savagei (Hope, 1842) female (3852663829).jpg, Female ''Prosopocoilus savagei'' File:Prosopocoilus savagei (Hope, 1842) male (3852663385).jpg, Male ''Prosopocoilus savagei'' Lucaninae {{Lucanidae-stub