Stag-Beetles. 



43-; 



close them upon \-our flesh. You will then know that thev have insufficient 

 muscular i)o\\'er to make the slightest im])ression u])on the armour-clad bodies 

 of their rivals. It is possible, too, that they scare off birds b\' assuming 

 a ]:>roper attitude and distending their mandibles to the full extent. A 

 common attitude with the male when at all alarmed is to raise the head 

 and fore-part of the bod\' b\- stiffening the fore-legs, and then distend the 

 jaws and spread wide the antennae. There is a " come on if you dare " air 

 about him, which, no doubt, serves the purpose for which it is assumed ; but it 

 is mere bluft. 



The well-formed wing-covers protect a pair of Icjng, transparent wings of a 

 ])ale-brownish tint, so long that they hav^e to be doubled over as well as folded to 

 get them underneath. The wing-covers taki' no part in the work of flight, being 

 merely held up o\'er the back to allow free play to the wings. The flight does 

 not strike the observer as being 

 business-like, but rather as slow 

 and aimless. In the districts 

 where the beetle is plentiful thev 

 may be seen in flight in the 

 evening in June and July. They 

 frequentlv blunder against per- 

 sons and get their hooked feet 

 entangled in the hair of ladies, 

 who become greatly alarmed, and 

 e.xpect to be eaten. At such times 

 they are fond of flying around oaks 

 in quest of mates. They settle 

 also to feed upon vegetable juices, 

 which the female easil\- obtains 

 bv crushing shoots and leaves with 

 her short jaws. The male may also 

 do this witli the teeth or tines of 



[H. Bastin. 



CilKYSALIS OF STAG-BeETLE, 



his lujrn^, but tlu^se 



organs are 



riic Kriib hollows out a spare among the wood-fragments to serve as a cocoon, 

 ami changes to a chrysalis. It will be seen that the long, antler-like jaws are 

 pressed to the under side, now uppermost. The chrvsalis-skin is thrown off 



ill-adapted for sue) l work, and he '""S before the perfect beetle leaves this cell 



l)robably feeds at wounds which have been made bv females, or on free-flowing 

 juices. The tongue in both sexes is adapted for sucking fluids, its four branches 

 being thickly beset with golden hairs. 



In th(^ larval stage the beetle feeds upon decaving wood, usually oak or willow ; 

 onlv occasionally upon the roots of living trees. Thev are occupied in this work 

 for about four years, but only a short period is spent in the chrysalis condition, in 

 this stage the large horns of the male are bent under and lie pressed to the under 

 surface. The grub is much like that of the better-know ii cockchafer, of a whitish 

 colour except the red-brown liead, and with the hinder extremity of the body much 

 enlarged. \\'hen about to enter upon its next stage it makes a sort of cocoon of 

 wood-fragments in which to lie. In exploring decaying stumps for beetles in the 

 spring, the collector frequcnth- comes upon stag-beetles that have already assumed 



