Not for Biting - _TNY_6615
My son and I went for a trip to the Käringboda nature reserve outside Nynäshamn, Sweden, with the goal of finding and photographing a male European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) back in mid-July of 2020.
This was quite the success as we located one of the great old oaks they were supposedly found in and in less than a minute, this male came walking down the trunk of the tree and let us photograph it!
Despite looking like they could give you a nasty bite, the huge mandibles of the male can't really pinch. Instead, they are designed to fling competing males out of the tree when they battle for the females. Ironically, the significantly saller females are much more prone to bite you.
More shots of this handsome lad here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50105378082/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50413186712/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52385112821/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50514101166/
Not for Biting - _TNY_6615
My son and I went for a trip to the Käringboda nature reserve outside Nynäshamn, Sweden, with the goal of finding and photographing a male European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) back in mid-July of 2020.
This was quite the success as we located one of the great old oaks they were supposedly found in and in less than a minute, this male came walking down the trunk of the tree and let us photograph it!
Despite looking like they could give you a nasty bite, the huge mandibles of the male can't really pinch. Instead, they are designed to fling competing males out of the tree when they battle for the females. Ironically, the significantly saller females are much more prone to bite you.
More shots of this handsome lad here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50105378082/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50413186712/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52385112821/
here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/50514101166/